Editing Ajaccio

{{short description|Prefecture and commune in Corsica}}
{{About|the Corsican city|the wine|Ajaccio AOC|the association football clubs|AC Ajaccio|and|Gazélec Ajaccio}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox French commune
|name               = Ajaccio
|native name        = {{native name|co|Aiacciu / Aghjacciu}}
|commune status     = [[Prefectures of France|Prefecture]] and [[Communes of France|commune]]
|image flag         = Flag of Ajaccio.svg
|image coat of arms = Blason ville fr Ajaccio.svg
|image              = {{multiple image
 |perrow            = 1/2/2
 |border            = infobox
 |total_width       = 300
 |image1            = Port Tino Rossi - Ajaccio (15148706455).jpg
 |caption1          = Port [[Tino Rossi]]
 |image2            = 2019 03 11 Aida Ajaccio (19).jpg
 |caption2          = view of the city
 |image3            = Korsika – Ajaccio – Musée Fesch - panoramio.jpg
 |caption3          = [[Musée Fesch]]
 |image4            = Ajaccio Cathedral.jpg
 |caption4          = [[Ajaccio Cathedral]]
 |image5            = Ajaccio phare citadelle.jpg
 |caption5          = [[:fr:Citadelle d'Ajaccio|Ajaccio Citadel]]
}}
|caption            = 
|arrondissement     = Ajaccio
|canton             = [[Canton of Ajaccio-1|Ajaccio-1]], [[Canton of Ajaccio-2|2]], [[Canton of Ajaccio-3|3]], [[Canton of Ajaccio-4|4]] and [[Canton of Ajaccio-5|5]]
|INSEE              = 2A004
|postal code        = 20000
|demonym            = Ajacciens (in French), Aiaccini or Ajaccini (in Italian), Aiaccini or Aghjaccini (in Corsican)
|mayor              = Stéphane Sbraggia<ref>{{cite web|title=Répertoire national des élus: les maires|url=https://www.data.gouv.fr/fr/datasets/r/2876a346-d50c-4911-934e-19ee07b0e503|publisher=data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises|date=13 September 2022|language=fr}}</ref>
|term               = 2022&ndash;2026
|intercommunality   = [[Communauté d'agglomération du Pays Ajaccien|CA Pays Ajaccien]]
|coordinates        = {{coord|41.9267|8.7369|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
|elevation m        = 38
|elevation min m    = 0
|elevation max m    = 787
|area km2           = 82.03
|population         = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_total}}
|population date    = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_as_of}}
|population footnotes = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_footnotes}}
|website            = http://www.ajaccio.fr/
}}

'''Ajaccio''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|aɪ|ə|tʃ|oʊ}},<ref>{{cite LPD|3}}</ref><ref>{{cite EPD|18}}</ref> {{IPAc-en|UKalso|ə|ˈ|dʒ|æ|(|k|)|s|i|oʊ}}, {{IPAc-en|USalso|ɑː|ˈ|j|ɑː|tʃ|(|i|)|oʊ}}; [[French language|French]]: {{IPA|fr|aʒaksjo||LL-Q150 (fra)-Benoît Prieur-Ajaccio.wav}}; {{langx|it|Aiaccio}} or {{lang|it|Ajaccio}} {{IPA|it|aˈjattʃo|}}; {{langx|co|Aiacciu}} {{IPA|co|aˈjattʃu|}}, <small>locally:</small> {{lang|co|Aghjacciu}} {{IPA|co|aˈɟattʃu|}}; {{langx|la|Adiacium}}) is the capital and largest city of [[Corsica]], [[France]]. It forms a [[communes of France|French commune]], prefecture of the [[Departments of France|department]] of [[Corse-du-Sud]], and head office of the ''[[Territorial collectivity|Collectivité territoriale]] de Corse'' (capital city of [[Corsica]]). It is also the largest settlement on the island. Ajaccio is located on the west coast of the island of Corsica, {{convert|210|nmi|km|-1}} southeast of [[Marseille]].

The original city went into decline in the [[Middle Ages]], but began to prosper again after the [[Republic of Genoa|Genoese]] built a [[citadel]] in [[1492]], to the south of the earlier settlement. After the [[Corsican Republic]] was declared in 1755, the Genoese continued to hold several citadels, including Ajaccio, until the [[French conquest of Corsica|French]] took control of the island.

The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Ajacciens'' (men) or ''Ajacciennes'' (women).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.habitants.fr/corse-du-sud-2A|title=Le nom des habitants du 2A - Corse-du-Sud - Habitants|website=www.habitants.fr}}</ref> The most famous of these is [[Napoleon Bonaparte]], who was born in Ajaccio in 1769, and whose ancestral home, the [[Maison Bonaparte]], is now a museum. Other dedications to him in the city include [[Ajaccio Napoleon Bonaparte Airport]].<ref>{{cite web|title=What's in an eponym? Celebrity airports - could there be a commercial benefit in naming?|url=https://centreforaviation.com/analysis/reports/whats-in-an-eponym-could-there-be-a-financial-or-other-benefit-in-celebrity-airport-naming-215965|publisher=Centre for Aviation}}</ref>

==Toponymy==
Several hypotheses have been advanced as to the [[etymology]] of the name ''Ajaccio'' (''Aiacciu'' in [[Corsican language|Corsican]], ''Addiazzo'' on old documents). Among these, the most prestigious suggests that the city was founded by the Greek legendary hero  [[Ajax the Great|Ajax]] and named after him. Other more realistic explanations are, for example, that the name could be related to the [[Tuscan language|Tuscan]] ''agghiacciu'' meaning "sheep pens". Another explanation, supported by [[Byzantine]] sources from around the year 600 AD called the city ''Agiation'' which suggests a possible Greek origin for the word,<ref>Manuscript variants are ''Agration'' and ''Agiagium'' but the use of a Greek ending does not necessarily indicate anything at all about ethnicity. At this late date geographers used either Greek or Latin forms at will. The word is no more decipherable in Greek than it is in Latin; attempts to connect two or three letters with [[Indo-European language|Indo-European]] roots amount to speculation.</ref> ''agathè'' could mean "good luck" or "good mooring" (this was also the root of the name of the city of [[Agde]]).

==Geography==

===Location===
Ajaccio is located on the west coast of the island of Corsica, {{convert|210|nmi|km|-1}} southeast of [[Marseille]]. The commune occupies a sheltered position at the foot of wooded hills on the northern shore of the Gulf of Ajaccio<ref name="EB1911"/> between Gravona and the ''pointe de la Parata'' and includes the ''[[îles Sanguinaires]]'' (Bloody Islands). The harbour lies to the east of the original citadel below a hill overlooking a peninsula which protects the harbour in the south where the Quai de la Citadelle and the Jettée de la Citadelle are. The modern city not only encloses the entire harbour but takes up the better part of the Gulf of Ajaccio and in suburban form extends for some miles up the valley of the river [[Gravona]]. The flow from that river is nearly entirely consumed as the city's water supply. Many beaches and coves border its territory and the terrain is particularly rugged in the west where the highest point is {{convert|790|m|0|abbr=on}}.

<gallery mode=packed heights=75px>
File:Porto Ajacio.JPG|Ajaccio Marina
File:Baie_Ajaccio_voilier.jpg|The Bay
File:Ajaccio_phare_citadelle.jpg|The lighthouse of the citadel of Ajaccio overlooking the bay
File:Ajaccio Sanguinaires 1.jpg|''Îles Sanguinaires''
Port Ajaccio.JPG|The market 
Ajaccio bay.jpg|A satellite image of the city and surrounding water.
</gallery>

===Urbanism===
[[File:2016 Ajaccio (1).jpg|thumb|left|300px|Port]]
Although the commune of Ajaccio has a large area (82.03&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>), only a small portion of this is urbanized. Therefore, the [[urban area]] of Ajaccio is located in the east of the commune on a narrow coastal strip forming a densely populated arc. The rest of the territory is natural with habitation of little importance and spread thinly. Suburbanization occurs north and east of the main urban area.

The original urban core, close to the old marshy plain of ''Cannes'' was abandoned in favour of the current city which was built near the ''Punta della Lechia''. It has undergone various improvements, particularly under Napoleon, who originated the two current major structural arteries (the ''Cours Napoleon'' oriented north–south and the ''Cours Grandval'' oriented east–west).

Ajaccio experienced a demographic boom in the 1960s, which explains why 85% of dwellings are post-1949.<ref>''The Cities of France'', by Fabriès-Verfaillie et Stragiotti, 2000 {{in lang|fr}}</ref> This is reflected in the layout of the city which is marked by very large areas of low-rise buildings and concrete towers, especially on the heights (''[[Les Jardins de l'Empereur]]'') and in the north of the city - e.g. the waterfront, ''Les Cannes'', and ''Les Salines''. A dichotomy appears in the landscape between the old city and the imposing modern buildings. Ajaccio gives the image of a city built on two different levels.

===Climate===
The city has a [[Mediterranean climate]] which is ''Csa'' in the [[Köppen climate classification]]. The average annual sunshine is 2,726 hours.

There are important local climatic variations, especially with wind exposure and total precipitation, between the city centre, the airport, and the  ''îles Sanguinaires''. The annual average rainfall is {{convert|645.6|mm|1|abbr=on}} at the ''Campo dell'Oro'' weather station (as per the chart) and {{convert|523.9|mm|1|abbr=on}} at the ''Parata'': the third-driest place in metropolitan France.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.meteofrance.com|title=PREVISIONS METEO FRANCE - Site Officiel de Météo-France - Prévisions gratuites à 15 jours sur la France et à 10 jours sur le monde|first=Meteo|last=France|website=www.meteofrance.com|access-date=31 May 2017}}</ref> The heat and dryness of summer are somewhat tempered by the proximity of the [[Mediterranean Sea]] except when the [[sirocco]] is blowing. In autumn and spring, heavy rain-storm episodes may occur. Winters are mild and snow is rare. Ajaccio is the French city which holds the record for the number of thunderstorms in the reference period 1971–2000 with an average of 39 thunderstorm days per year.<ref>[http://france.meteofrance.com/france/actu/actu?portlet_id=67195&document_id=22824 MétéoFrance].</ref>

On 14 September 2009, the city was hit by a [[tornado]] with an intensity of F1 on the [[Fujita scale]]. There was little damage except torn billboards, flying tiles, overturned cars, and broken windows but no casualties.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.corsematin.com/article/quand-les-tornades-%C2%ABrafalent%C2%BB-lile|title=Quand les tornades "rafalent" l'île|website=www.corsematin.com|language=fr|access-date=2019-07-11}}</ref>

{{Meteo France
|Town=Ajaccio
|Sunshine=2,735
|Rain=616
|Snow=2
|Storm=39
|Fog=3<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lameteo.org/index.php/climatologie/1560-normales-climatiques-1981-2010-ajaccio|title=Normales climatiques 1981-2010 : Ajaccio|website=www.lameteo.org|access-date=31 May 2017}}</ref>
}}

'''Weather Data for Ajaccio'''
{{Weather box
|location = Ajaccio ([[Ajaccio Napoleon Bonaparte Airport|AJA]]), elevation: {{convert|5|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1949–present
|collapsed =
|metric first = Y
|single line = Y
|Jan record high C = 22.4
|Feb record high C = 25.3
|Mar record high C = 29.6
|Apr record high C = 32.2
|May record high C = 34.6
|Jun record high C = 41.6
|Jul record high C = 40.3
|Aug record high C = 39.5
|Sep record high C = 40.0
|Oct record high C = 35.0
|Nov record high C = 29.4
|Dec record high C = 22.7
|Jan high C = 14.0
|Feb high C = 14.2
|Mar high C = 16.0
|Apr high C = 18.5
|May high C = 22.1
|Jun high C = 25.9
|Jul high C = 28.6
|Aug high C = 29.2
|Sep high C = 26.1
|Oct high C = 22.8
|Nov high C = 18.3
|Dec high C = 15.1
|year high C = 20.9
|Jan mean C = 9.4
|Feb mean C = 9.2
|Mar mean C = 11.0
|Apr mean C = 13.4
|May mean C = 17.0
|Jun mean C = 20.7
|Jul mean C = 23.2
|Aug mean C = 23.7
|Sep mean C = 20.8
|Oct mean C = 17.7
|Nov mean C = 13.6
|Dec mean C = 10.5
|year mean C = 15.8
|Jan low C = 4.7
|Feb low C = 4.3
|Mar low C = 5.9
|Apr low C = 8.4
|May low C = 11.8
|Jun low C = 15.4
|Jul low C = 17.7
|Aug low C = 18.1
|Sep low C = 15.4
|Oct low C = 12.6
|Nov low C = 9.0
|Dec low C = 5.8
|year low C = 10.8
|Jan record low C = -7.0
|Feb record low C = -8.1
|Mar record low C = -5.6
|Apr record low C = -1.7
|May record low C = 3.0
|Jun record low C = 6.8
|Jul record low C = 9.2
|Aug record low C = 9.1
|Sep record low C = 7.6
|Oct record low C = 1.6
|Nov record low C = -3.2
|Dec record low C = -4.9
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm = 54.1
|Feb precipitation mm = 48.1
|Mar precipitation mm = 50.4
|Apr precipitation mm = 53.1
|May precipitation mm = 49.8
|Jun precipitation mm = 25.9
|Jul precipitation mm = 8.6
|Aug precipitation mm = 15.8
|Sep precipitation mm = 57.8
|Oct precipitation mm = 85.7
|Nov precipitation mm = 111.8
|Dec precipitation mm = 73.9
|year precipitation mm = 635.0
|unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm
|Jan precipitation days = 7.0
|Feb precipitation days = 6.7
|Mar precipitation days = 6.3
|Apr precipitation days = 7.2
|May precipitation days = 5.0
|Jun precipitation days = 2.8
|Jul precipitation days = 1.2
|Aug precipitation days = 1.4
|Sep precipitation days = 5.1
|Oct precipitation days = 7.4
|Nov precipitation days = 9.3
|Dec precipitation days = 8.6
|year precipitation days = 68.0
|Jan snow days = 0.8
|Feb snow days = 0.6
|Mar snow days = 0.3
|Apr snow days = 0.0
|May snow days = 0.0
|Jun snow days = 0.0
|Jul snow days = 0.0
|Aug snow days = 0.0
|Sep snow days = 0.0
|Oct snow days = 0.0
|Nov snow days = 0.1
|Dec snow days = 0.3
|year snow days = 2.1
|Jan humidity = 81
|Feb humidity = 80
|Mar humidity = 80
|Apr humidity = 80
|May humidity = 80
|Jun humidity = 78
|Jul humidity = 76
|Aug humidity = 76
|Sep humidity = 78
|Oct humidity = 80
|Nov humidity = 81
|Dec humidity = 82
|Jan sun = 135.8
|Feb sun = 155.6
|Mar sun = 210.8
|Apr sun = 230.4
|May sun = 288.3
|Jun sun = 332.3
|Jul sun = 373.6
|Aug sun = 343.3
|Sep sun = 260.6
|Oct sun = 206.9
|Nov sun = 140.2
|Dec sun = 124.0
|year sun = 2801.7
|source 1 = [[Meteo France]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.meteofrance.com/climat/france/ajaccio/20004002/normales|title=Climatological Information for Strasbourg, France|publisher=Meteo France|date=7 August 2019|access-date=31 December 2021|archive-date=25 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200725010321/http://www.meteofrance.com/climat/france/ajaccio/20004002/normales|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>
{{cite web
| url = https://donneespubliques.meteofrance.fr/FichesClim/FICHECLIM_20004002.pdf
| title = AJACCIO (20)
| work = Fiche Climatologique: Statistiques 1991–2020 et records
| publisher = Meteo France
| language = fr
| access-date = 7 September 2022}}</ref>
| source 2 = Infoclimat.fr (relative humidity 1961–1990)<ref name=Infoclimat>{{cite web
| url = http://www.infoclimat.fr/climatologie-07761-ajaccio-campo-dell-oro.html
| title = Normes et records 1961–1990: Ajaccio - Campo dell'Oro (20) – altitude 4m
| language = fr
| publisher = Infoclimat
| access-date = 7 August 2019
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160315040604/http://www.infoclimat.fr/climatologie-07190-strasbourg-entzheim.html
| archive-date = 15 March 2016}}</ref>

}}
{| class="wikitable collapsible plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+ Climatological normals for Ajaccio (period 1961–1990)<ref>{{cite web |title=Ajaccio normals for 1961-1990 |url=https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/data/normals/WMO/1961-1990/RA-VI/FR/07761.TXT |website=ncei.noaa.gov |publisher=[[NOAA]] |access-date=11 April 2024}}</ref>
|- style="vertical-align:middle;"
! Parameter
! Jan
! Feb
! Mar
! Apr
! May
! Jun
! Jul
! Aug
! Sep
! Oct
! Nov
! Dec
|-
! Average number of days with [[thunder]]
| style="background-color: #E0FFC0; color: black;"|2.1
| style="background-color: #E0FFC0; color: black;"|2.7 
| style="background-color: #E0FFC0; color: black;"|2.9
| style="background-color: #E0FFC0; color: black;"|3.1 
| style="background-color: #E0FFC0; color: black;"|2.6
| style="background-color: #E0FFC0; color: black;"|3.1
| style="background-color: #E0FFC0; color: black;"|2.7 
| style="background-color: #E0FFC0; color: black;"|3.1 
| style="background-color: #E0FFC0; color: black;"|3.8 
| style="background-color: #C0FFA0; color: black;"|4.3 
| style="background-color: #C0FFA0; color: black;"|4.3
| style="background-color: #E0FFC0; color: black;"|2.0
|-
! Mean number of days with [[hail]]
| style="background-color: #E5E5FF; color: black;"|0.7
| style="background-color: #E5E5FF; color: black;"|0.9
| style="background-color: #E5E5FF; color: black;"|0.9
| style="background-color: #E5E5FF; color: black;"|0.5 
| style="background-color: #E5E5FF; color: black;"|0.2
| style="background-color: #E5E5FF; color: black;"|0.2 
| style="background-color: #E5E5FF; color: black;"|0.2
| style="background-color: #E5E5FF; color: black;"|0.1
| style="background-color: #FFFFFF; color: black;"|0.0 
| style="background-color: #E5E5FF; color: black;"|0.1
| style="background-color: #E5E5FF; color: black;"|0.5 
| style="background-color: #E5E5FF; color: black;"|0.6
|-
! Number Days with air [[frost]]
| style="background-color: #E0FFFF; color: black;"|3.8
| style="background-color: #E0FFFF; color: black;"|3
| style="background-color: #E5FFFF; color: black;"|1.4
| style="background-color: #FFFFFF; color: black;"|0.0
| style="background-color: #FFFFFF; color: black;"|0.0
| style="background-color: #FFFFFF; color: black;"|0.0
| style="background-color: #FFFFFF; color: black;"|0.0
| style="background-color: #FFFFFF; color: black;"|0.0
| style="background-color: #FFFFFF; color: black;"|0.0
| style="background-color: #FFFFFF; color: black;"|0.0
| style="background-color: #F0F8FF; color: black;"|0.4
| style="background-color: #E0FFFF; color: black;"|2.6
|-
! Number Days with no Sunshine
| style="background-color: #E5E5E5; color: black;"|3.7
| style="background-color: #F1E9D2; color: black;"|2.5
| style="background-color: #F1E9D2; color: black;"|2.4
| style="background-color: #F9F6EE; color: black;"|1.3
| style="background-color: #F9F6EE; color: black;"|1
| style="background-color: #FFFAFA; color: black;"|0.1
| style="background-color: #FFFAFA; color: black;"|0.1
| style="background-color: #FFFFFF; color: black;"|0.0
| style="background-color: #FFFAFA; color: black;"|0.3
| style="background-color: #F9F6EE; color: black;"|1
| style="background-color: #F1E9D2; color: black;"|2.5
| style="background-color: #E5E5E5; color: black;"|4.3
|-
! No. of days with mean temperature > {{Convert|18.0|C|F|abbr=on}}
| style="background-color: #FFFFFF; color: black;"|0.0
| style="background-color: #FFFFFF; color: black;"|0.0
| style="background-color: #FFE5CC; color: black;"|0.1
| style="background-color: #FFE5CC; color: black;"|0.6
| style="background-color: #FFCC99; color: black;"|4.8
| style="background-color: #FF8000; color: black;"|20.5
| style="background-color: #994C00; color: white;"|30.0
| style="background-color: #994C00; color: white;"|30.6
| style="background-color: #CC6600; color: black;"|25.1
| style="background-color: #FFB266; color: black;"|9.8
| style="background-color: #FFE5CC; color: black;"|0.7
| style="background-color: #FFFFFF; color: black;"|0.0
|-
! No. of days with max temperature > {{Convert|30.0|C|F|abbr=on}}
| style="background-color: #FFFFFF; color: black;"|0.0
| style="background-color: #FFFFFF; color: black;"|0.0
| style="background-color: #FFFFFF; color: black;"|0.0
| style="background-color: #FFFFFF; color: black;"|0.0
| style="background-color: #FAEBD7; color: black;"|0.1
| style="background-color: #FFCCCC; color: black;"|1.1
| style="background-color: #FF9999; color: black;"|4.7
| style="background-color: #FF9999; color: black;"|4.5
| style="background-color: #FFCCCC; color: black;"|1.1
| style="background-color: #FAEBD7; color: black;"|0.5
| style="background-color: #FFFFFF; color: black;"|0.0
| style="background-color: #FFFFFF; color: black;"|0.0

|}

===Heraldry===
{{Blazon-arms
|img1=Blason ville fr Ajaccio.svg
|legend1=Arms of Ajaccio 
|text=In 1575, the Senate of Genoa granted to the city of Ajaccio Arms of blue with a silver column sumounted by the Arms of Genoa between two white greyhounds. This is not the current Arms.

'''Blazon:'''<br/>
''Supported by two golden lions, a silver column stands on a green base beneath an azure sky.''
}}

==History==
[[File:Ajaccio Bon Pl JPG.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Statue of Napoleon in the Place Foch]]
[[File:Ajaccio Grand Hôtel Continental.jpg|Ex Grand Hôtel Continental (now office of the ''Collectivité territoriale de Corse'')|thumb|250px|right]]

===Antiquity===
The city was not mentioned by the Greek geographer [[Ptolemy of Alexandria]] in the 2nd century AD despite the presence of a place called ''Ourkinion'' in the ''Cinarca'' area. It is likely that the city of Ajaccio had its first development at this time. The 2nd century was a period of prosperity in the Mediterranean basin (the [[Pax Romana]]) and there was a need for a proper port at the head of the several valleys that lead to the Gulf able to accommodate large ships. Some important underwater archaeological discoveries recently made of Roman ships tend to confirm this.

Further excavations conducted recently led to the discovery of important early Christian remains suggest that an upwards reevaluation might be necessary of the size of Ajaccio city in [[Late Antiquity]] and the beginning of the [[Middle Ages]]. The city was in any case already significant enough to be the seat of a [[diocese]], mentioned by [[Pope Gregory the Great]] in 591. The city was then further north than the location chosen later by the [[Republic of Genoa|Genoese]] - in the location of the existing quarters of ''Castel Vecchio'' and ''Sainte-Lucie''.

The earliest certain written record of a settlement at Ajaccio with a name ancestral to its name was the exhortation in Epistle 77 written in 601AD by [[Gregory the Great]] to the Defensor Boniface, one of two known rectors of the early Corsican church,<ref>{{cite book|pages=318|title=The Popes and the Papacy in the Early Middle Ages, 476–752|first=Jeffrey|last=Richards|year=1979|isbn=0-7100-0098-7|publisher=Routledge & Kegan Paul|location=London}}</ref> to tell him not to leave [[Aléria]] and Adjacium without bishops. There is no earlier use of the term and Adjacium is not an attested [[Latin]] word, which probably means that it is a Latinization of a word in some other language. The [[Ravenna Cosmography]] of about 700 AD cites Agiation,<ref>{{cite book|title=Ravennatis Anonymi Cosmographia et Guidonis Geographica|pages=413|author=Anonymous of Ravenna|author2=Guido|author3= [[Gustav Parthey]]|author4= Moritz Pinder|year=1860|location=Berolini|publisher=in aedibvs Friderici Nicolai}} {{in lang|la}}. Downloadable Google Books.</ref> which sometimes is taken as evidence of a prior Greek city, as -ion appears to be a Greek ending. There is, however, no evidence at all of a Greek presence on the west coast and the [[Ionians]] at [[Aléria]] on the east coast had been expelled by the Etruscans long before Roman domination.{{citation needed|date=February 2015}}

[[Ptolemy]], who must come the closest to representing indigenous names, lists the Lochra River just south of a feature he calls the "sandy shore" on the southwest coast. If the shore is the Campo dell'Oro (Place of Gold) the Lochra would seem to be the combined mouth of the [[Gravona]] and [[Prunelli]] Rivers, neither one of which sounds like Lochra.

North of there was a Roman city, Ourchinion. The western coastline was so distorted, however, that it is impossible to say where Adjacium was; certainly, he would have known its name and location if he had had any first-hand knowledge of the island and if in fact it was there. Ptolemy's Ourchinion is further north than Ajaccio and does not have the same name. It could be [[Torra di Sagone|Sagone]].<ref>{{cite web|first=Pierre |last=Massimi |author2=Jose Tomazi |title=A corsica in la carta geografica di Ptolomey |work=InterRomania |publisher=Centru Culturale, Universita di Corsica |year=2002|access-date=18 May 2008 |url=http://www.interromania.com/media/pdf/benigni/ptolomeu.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080529095833/http://www.interromania.com/media/pdf/benigni/ptolomeu.pdf |archive-date=29 May 2008 }} {{in lang|co}}.</ref> The lack of correspondence between Ptolemaic and historical names known to be ancient has no defense except in the case of the two Roman colonies, Aleria and Mariana. In any case the population of the region must belong to Ptolemy's Tarabeni or Titiani people, neither of which are ever heard about again. {{citation needed|date=February 2015}}

===Archaeological evidence===
The population of the city throughout the centuries maintained an oral tradition that it had originally been [[Roman Empire|Roman]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=History of Europe - Romans, Empire, Legacy {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/history-of-Europe/Romans |access-date=2024-06-28 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> Travellers of the 19th century could point to the Hill of San Giovanni on the northwest shore of the Gulf of Ajaccio, which still had a cathedral said to have been the 6th-century seat of the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Ajaccio|Bishop of Ajaccio]]. The Castello Vecchio ("old castle"), a ruined citadel, was believed to be Roman but turned out to have Gothic features. The hill was planted with vines. The farmers kept turning up artifacts and terracotta funerary urns that seemed to be Roman.

In the 20th century, the hill was covered over with buildings and became a part of downtown Ajaccio. In 2005 construction plans for a lot on the hill offered the opportunity to the ''Institut national de recherches archéologiques preventatives'' (Inrap) to excavate. They found the [[baptistry]] of a 6th-century cathedral and large amounts of pottery dated to the 6th and 7th centuries AD; in other words, an early Christian town. A cemetery had been placed over the old church. In it was a single Roman grave covered over with roof tiles bearing short indecipherable inscriptions. The finds of the previous century had included Roman coins. This is the only evidence so far of a Roman city continuous with the early Christian one.<ref>{{cite web|title=Discovery of an Early Christian Baptistery in Ajaccio |url=http://www.inrap.fr/preventive-archaeology/In_the_News/Press_release/p-1346-Discovery_of_an_Early_Christian_Baptistery_in_Ajac.htm |publisher=Inrap |date=9 June 2005 |access-date=9 June 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721001014/http://www.inrap.fr/preventive-archaeology/In_the_News/Press_release/p-1346-Discovery_of_an_Early_Christian_Baptistery_in_Ajac.htm |archive-date=21 July 2011 }}</ref>

===Medieval Genoese period===
It has been established that after the 8th century the city, like most other Corsican coastal communities, strongly declined and disappeared almost completely. Nevertheless, a castle and a cathedral were still in place in 1492 which last was not demolished until 1748. {{citation needed|date=March 2015}}

Towards the end of the 15th century, the [[Republic of Genoa|Genoese]] were eager to assert their dominance in the south of the island and decided to rebuild the city of Ajaccio. Several sites were considered: the ''Pointe de la Parata'' (not chosen because it was too exposed to the wind), the ancient city (finally considered unsafe because of the proximity of the salt ponds), and finally the ''Punta della Lechia'' which was finally selected.

Work began on the town on 21 April 1492 south of the Christian village by the [[Bank of Saint George]] at [[Republic of Genoa|Genoa]], who sent Cristoforo of Gandini, an architect, to build it. He began with a castle on Capo di Bolo, around which he constructed residences for several hundred people.<ref>{{cite web|title=History of the city of Ajaccio|url=https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=http://www.ajaccio.fr/Histoire-de-la-ville-d-Ajaccio_a12.html&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=4&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dadjacium%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26as_qdr%3Dall%26pwst%3D1|access-date=16 May 2008}}</ref>
[[File:Tour sanguinaires.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Genoese Tower.]]

The new city was essentially a colony of Genoa. The Corsicans were restricted from the city for some years.

Nevertheless, the town grew rapidly and became the administrative capital of the province of ''Au Delà Des Monts'' (more or less the current ''[[Corse-du-Sud]]''). [[Bastia]] remained the capital of the entire island.

Although at first populated exclusively by the Genoese, the city slowly opened to the Corsicans while the Ajaccians, almost to the French conquest, were legally citizens of the [[Republic of Genoa]] and were happy to distinguish themselves from the insular ''paesani'' who lived mainly in ''Borgu'', a suburb outside the city walls (the current ''rue Fesch'' was the main street).

===Attachment to France===
Ajaccio was occupied from 1553 to 1559 by the French, but it again fell to the Genoese after the [[Italian War of 1551–1559|Treaty of Cateau Cambresis]] in the latter year.<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=1|wstitle=Ajaccio|volume=1|page=451}}</ref>

Subsequently, the [[Republic of Genoa]] was strong enough to keep Corsica until 1755, the year [[Pasquale Paoli]] proclaimed the [[Corsican Republic]]. Paoli took most of the island for the republic, but he was unable to force Genoese troops out of the citadels of [[Saint-Florent, Haute-Corse|Saint-Florent]], [[Calvi, Haute-Corse|Calvi]], Ajaccio, [[Bastia]] and [[Algajola]]. Leaving them there, he went on to build the nation, while the Republic of Genoa was left to ponder prospects and solutions. Their ultimate solution was to [[French conquest of Corsica|sell Corsica to France]] in 1768 and French troops of the [[Ancien Régime]] replaced Genoese ones in the citadels, including Ajaccio's.

Corsica was formally annexed to France in 1780.

===Napoleon===
[[Napoleon Bonaparte]] (born as Napoleone di Buonaparte) was born at Ajaccio in the same year as the [[Battle of Ponte Novu]], 1769. The Buonaparte family at the time had a huge four-story home in town (now a museum known as [[Maison Bonaparte]]) and a rarely used country home in the hills north of the city (now site of the [[Arboretum des Milelli]]). The father of the family, attorney Carlo di Buonaparte, was secretary to [[Pasquale Paoli]] during the [[Corsican Republic]].
[[File:2016 Ajaccio - Napoleondenkmal.jpg|thumb|left|Ajaccio, Place De Gaulle - monument Napoléon]]

After the defeat of Paoli, the [[Charles Louis de Marbeuf|Comte de Marbeuf]] began to meet with some leading Corsicans to outline the shape of the future and enlist their assistance. The Comte was among a delegation from Ajaccio in 1769, offered his loyalty and was appointed assessor.

Marbeuf also offered Carlo di Buonaparte an appointment for one of his sons to the [[Brienne-le-Château|Military College of Brienne]], but Napoleone did not speak French which was a requirement and he had to be at least ten years of age. There is a dispute concerning Napoleon's age because of this requirement; the emperor is known to have altered the civic records at Ajaccio concerning himself and it is possible that he was born in [[Corte, Haute-Corse|Corte]] in 1768 when his father was there on business. In any case Napoleon was sent to a school in Autun to learn basic French, then after a year went to Brienne from 1779 to 1784.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/napoleon/napoleon-and-josephine/who-was-napoleon.html|title=Napoleon > Who was Napoleon?|website=www.ngv.vic.gov.au}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|pages=Chapter 1|title=The Life of Napoleon Bonaparte|first=Sabine|last=Baring-Gould|year=2006|publisher=Adamant Media Corporation|isbn=0-543-95815-9|no-pp=true}}</ref>

At Brienne Napoleon concentrated on studies. He wrote a boyish history of Corsica. He did not share his father's views but held [[Pasquale Paoli]] in high esteem and was at heart a Corsican nationalist. The top students were encouraged to go into the artillery. After graduation and a brief sojourn at the [[École Militaire|Military School of Paris]] Napoleon applied for a second-lieutenancy in the [[Régiment de La Fère (1765)|artillery regiment of La Fère]] at [[Valence, Drôme|Valence]] and after a time was given the position. Meanwhile, his father died and his mother was cast into poverty in Corsica, still having four children to support. Her only income was Napoleon's meager salary.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sloane |first=William Milligan |title=Life of Napoleon Bonaparte |date=1894 |pages=27–30}}</ref>

The regiment was in [[Auxonne]] when the revolution broke out in the summer of 1789. Napoleon returned on leave to Ajaccio in October, became a [[Jacobin (politics)|Jacobin]] and began to work for the revolution. The [[National Assembly (French Revolution)|National Assembly]] in Paris united Corsica to France and pardoned its exiles. Paoli returned in 1790 after 21 years and kissed the soil on which he stood. He and Napoleon met and toured the battlefield of Paoli's defeat. A national assembly at Orezza created the department of Corsica and Paoli was subsequently elected president. He commanded the national guard raised by Napoleon. After a brief return to his regiment Napoleon was promoted to [[first lieutenant]] and came home again on leave in 1791.
[[File:Ajaccio citadelle echauguette.jpg|thumbnail|View of the citadel of Ajaccio]]
All officers were recalled from leave in 1792, intervention threatened and war with Austria ([[Marie-Antoinette]]'s homeland) began. Napoleon returned to Paris for review, was exonerated, then promoted to [[Captain (armed forces)|captain]] and given leave to escort his sister, a schoolgirl, back to Corsica at state expense. His family was prospering; his estate increased.

Napoleon became a [[lieutenant-colonel]] in the Corsican National Guard. Paoli sent him off on an expedition to [[Sardinia]], ordered by France, under Paolis's nephew but the nephew had secret orders from Paoli to make sure the expedition failed.<ref>{{cite web|title=La Maddalena, 22/25&nbsp;February 1793|first=Maurizio|last=Cinti|work=Military Subjects: Battles & Campaigns|publisher=The Napoleon Series|date=20 April 1995|url=http://www.napoleon-series.org/military/battles/c_maddalena.html|access-date=25 May 2008}}</ref> Paoli was now a conservative, opposing the execution of the king and supporting an alliance with Great Britain. Returning from Sardinia Napoleon with his family and all his supporters were instrumental in getting Paoli denounced at the [[National Convention]] in Paris in 1793. Napoleon earned the hatred of the Paolists by pretending to support Paoli and then turning against him (payment, one supposes, for Sardinia).

Paoli was [[Trial in absentia|convicted in absentia]], a warrant was issued for his arrest (which could not be served) and Napoleon was dispatched to Corsica as [[Inspector General]] of Artillery to take the citadel of Ajaccio from the royalists who had held it since 1789. The Paolists combining with the royalists defeated the French in two pitched battles and Napoleon and his family went on the run, hiding by day, while the Paolists burned their estate. Napoleon and his mother, Laetitia, were taken out by ship in June 1793, by friends while two of the girls found refuge with other friends. They landed in [[Toulon]] with only Napoleon's pay for their support.
[[File:2016 Napoleon Totenmaske.jpg|thumb|left|[[Death mask]] of [[Napoleon Bonaparte|Napoleon]]]]
The Bonapartes moved to [[Marseille]] but in August Toulon offered itself to the British and received the protection of a fleet under [[Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood|Admiral Hood]]. The [[Siege of Toulon]] began in September under revolutionary officers mainly untrained in the art of war. Napoleon happened to present socially one evening and during a casual conversation over a misplaced 24-pounder explained the value of artillery. Taken seriously he was allowed to bring up over 100 guns from coastal emplacements but his plan for the taking of Toulon was set aside as one incompetent officer superseded another. By December they decided to try his plan and made him a Colonel. Placing the guns at close range he used them to keep the British fleet away while he battered down the walls of Toulon. As soon as the [[Committee of Public Safety]] heard of the victory Napoleon became a [[brigadier general]], the start of his meteoric rise to power.

The Bonapartes were back in Ajaccio in 1797 under the protection of General Napoleon. Soon after Napoleon became First Consul and then emperor, using his office to spread revolution throughout Europe. In 1811 he made Ajaccio the capital of the new Department of Corsica. Despite his subsequent defeat by the Prussians, Russians, and British, his exile and his death, no victorious power reversed that decision or tried to remove Corsica from France. Among the natives, though Corsican nationalism is strong, and feeling often runs high in favour of a union with [[Italy]]; loyalty to France, however, as evidenced by elections, remains stronger.

===19th and 20th centuries===
In the 19th century Ajaccio became a winter resort of the high society of the time, especially for the English, in the same way as [[Monaco]], [[Cannes]], and [[Nice]]. An [[Holy Trinity Church, Ajaccio|Anglican Church]] was even built.

The first prison in France for children was built in Ajaccio in 1855: the Horticultural colony of Saint Anthony. It was a correctional colony for juvenile delinquents (from 8 to 20 years old), established under Article 10 of the Act of 5 August 1850. Nearly 1,200 children from all over France stayed there until 1866, when it was closed. Sixty percent of them perished, the victims of poor sanitation and malaria which infested the unhealthy areas that they were responsible to clean.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://site.voila.fr/bagne-enfant-ajaccio|title=Créer un site web gratuit - pages perso Orange|website=site.voila.fr|access-date=31 May 2017|archive-date=30 March 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090330133704/http://site.voila.fr/bagne-enfant-ajaccio|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Contemporary history===
{{Main|Italian occupation of Corsica}}
[[File:Mairie Ajaccio.jpg|thumb|Ajaccio: the first French town liberated]]

On 9 September 1943, the people of Ajaccio rose up against the Nazi occupiers<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.corse.pref.gouv.fr/scripts/display.asp?P=COhist_liberation|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080624175934/http://www.corse.pref.gouv.fr/scripts/display.asp?P=COhist_liberation|url-status=dead|title=Préfecture of Corsica: ''The Liberation of Corsica''|archive-date=24 June 2008}}</ref> and became the first French town to be liberated from the domination of the Germans. General [[Charles de Gaulle]] went to Ajaccio on 8 October 1943 and said: "We owe it to the field of battle the lesson of the page of history that was written in French Corsica. Corsica to her fortune and honour is the first morsel of France to be liberated; which was done intentionally and willingly, in the light of its liberation, this demonstrates that these are the intentions and the will of the whole nation."<ref>Rotterdam – 91 Day Far East Cruise: Volume 2. (2022). (n.p.): Kalman Dubov.</ref>

Throughout this period, no Jew was executed or deported from Corsica through the protection afforded by its people and its government. This event now allows Corsica to aspire to the title "[[Righteous Among the Nations]]", as no French region except for the commune [[Le Chambon-sur-Lignon]] in [[Haute-Loire]] carries this title. Their case is being investigated {{as of|2010|lc=y}}.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lefigaro.fr/actualite-france/2010/04/27/01016-20100427ARTFIG00704-corse-juste-parmi-les-nations-.php|title=Des Corses veulent que l'île soit "Juste parmi les nations"|first=Denis|last=Nicolaï|date=27 April 2010|website=Le Figaro.fr}}</ref>

Since the middle of the 20th century, Ajaccio has seen significant development. The city has seen population growth and considerable [[urban sprawl]]. Today Ajaccio is the capital of Corsica and the main town of the island and seeks to establish itself as a true regional centre.<ref name="ReferenceA">"French Cities" by Fabriès-Verfaillie et Stragiotti, 2000. {{in lang|fr}}</ref>

Ajaccio was a hotspot for violence during the [[2022 Corsica unrest|violent unrest in March 2022]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cars Set Alight as Protests Continue on Corsica |url=https://uk.style.yahoo.com/cars-set-alight-protests-continue-110546957.html |access-date=2022-03-13 |website=uk.style.yahoo.com |date=11 March 2022 |language=en-GB}}</ref>

==Economy==
[[File:Ajaccio Cité1JPG.jpg|thumb|250px|right|View of the old city of Ajaccio]]
[[File:Ajaccio-congrés-1.JPG|thumb|right|250px|The Palace of congress of Ajaccio]]

The city is, with [[Bastia]], the economic, commercial and administrative centre of Corsica. Its urban area of nearly 90,000 inhabitants is spread over a large part of the [[Corse-du-Sud]], on either side of the Gulf of Ajaccio and up the valley of the Gravona. Its business is primarily oriented towards the services sector.

The services sector is by far the main source of employment in the city. Ajaccio is an administrative centre comprising communal, intercommunal, departmental, regional, and prefectural services.

It is also a shopping centre with the commercial streets of the city centre and the areas of peripheral activities such as that of ''Mezzavia'' (hypermarket ''Géant Casino'') and along the ring road (hypermarket Carrefour and E. Leclerc).

Tourism is one of the most vital aspects of the economy, split between the seaside tourism of summer, cultural tourism, and fishing. A number of hotels, varying from one star to five star, are present across the commune.

Ajaccio is the seat of the ''Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Ajaccio and Corsica South''. It manages the ports of Ajaccio, [[Bonifacio, Corse-du-Sud|Bonifacio]], [[Porto-Vecchio]], [[Propriano]] and the Tino Rossi marina. It also manages [[Ajaccio airport]]<ref>[http://www.ajaccio.aeroport.fr/aeroports/ajaccio2.php CCI of Ajaccio: Airport] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100126065821/http://www.ajaccio.aeroport.fr/aeroports/ajaccio2.php |date=26 January 2010 }} {{in lang|fr}}</ref> and [[Figari Sud-Corse Airport|Figari airport]] as well as the convention centre and the ''Centre of Ricanto''.

Secondary industry is underdeveloped, apart from the aeronautical company ''Corsica Aerospace Composites CCA'', the largest company on the island with 135 employees at two sites.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://corse-composites-aeronautiques.com/|title=Corse Composites Aéronautiques cca.fr|website=corse-composites-aeronautiques.com}}</ref> The storage sites of [[GDF Suez]] (formerly [[Gaz de France]]) and [[Antar (company)|Antargaz]] in the district of ''Vazzio'' are classified as high risk.

===Energy===
The ''Centrale EDF du Vazzio'', a heavy oil power station, provides the south of the island with electricity. The [[Gravona]] Canal delivers water for consumption by the city.

==Transport==

===Road access===
[[File:Ajaccio - rue cardinal Fesch.jpg|thumb|Rue du Cardinal Fesch]]

By road, the city is accessible from National Route NR194 from [[Bastia]] and NR193 via NR196 from [[Bonifacio, Corse-du-Sud|Bonifacio]].

These two main axes, as well as the roads leading to suburban villages, connect Ajaccio from the north - the site of Ajaccio forming a dead end blocked by the sea to the south. Only the ''Cours Napoleon'' and the ''Boulevard du Roi Jerome'' cross the city.

Along with the high [[urban density]], this explains the major traffic and parking problems especially during peak hours and during the summer tourist season. A bypass through several neighbourhoods is nearing completion.

===Communal bus services===
The Muvistrada provide services on 21 urban routes, one "city" route for local links and 20 suburban lines. The frequency varies according to demand with intervals of 30 minutes for the most important routes:<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mobilite.muvitarra.fr/|title=Accueil - Muvistrada}}</ref>

A park and ride with 300 spaces was built at ''Mezzana'' in the neighbouring commune of [[Sarrola-Carcopino]] in order to promote intermodality between cars and public transport.<ref>[http://www.ca-ajaccien.fr Communauté d'Agglomération of Pays Ajaccien] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071020154127/http://www.ca-ajaccien.fr/ |date=20 October 2007 }} {{in lang|fr}}</ref> It was inaugurated on 12 July 2010.<ref>[http://www.ca-ajaccien.fr/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/DP-parc-relais-mezzana.pdf www.ca-ajaccien.fr] and {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131018011332/http://www.ca-ajaccien.fr/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/DP-parc-relais-mezzana.pdf |date=18 October 2013 }} {{in lang|fr}}</ref>

===Airport===
[[File:Aéroport Ajaccio Corse.jpg|thumb|Ajaccio Airport]]
The city is served by an [[Ajaccio Napoleon Bonaparte Airport]] which is the headquarters of [[Air Corsica]], a Corsican airline. It connects Ajaccio to a number of cities in mainland France (including Paris, Marseille, Nice, and Brive) and to places in Europe to serve the tourist industry.

The airline [[CCM Airlines]] also has its head office on the grounds of the [[Ajaccio Napoleon Bonaparte Airport|Airport]].<ref>"[http://www.aircorsica.com/infos-relations-clientele-vols-sejours-corse-ccm.html#contact Relations Clientèle] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090818180107/http://www.aircorsica.com/infos-relations-clientele-vols-sejours-corse-ccm.html#contact |date=18 August 2009 }}." [[CCM Airlines]]. Retrieved 12 February 2010.</ref>

===Port===
[[File:Ajaccio Port JPG2.jpg|right|thumb|250px|View of the Port]]
The port of Ajaccio is connected to the French mainland on an almost daily basis ([[Marseille]], [[Toulon]], [[Nice]]). There are also occasional links to the Italian mainland ([[Livorno]]) and to [[Sardinia]], as well as a seasonal service serving [[Calvi, Haute-Corse|Calvi]] and [[Propriano]].<ref name="corse-du-sud.cci.fr">{{Cite web|url=http://www.corse-du-sud.cci.fr/|title=Chambre de Commerce et d'Industrie d'Ajaccio et de la Corse-du-Sud|website=www.corse-du-sud.cci.fr}}</ref> The two major shipping companies providing these links are Corsica Linea and [[Corsica Ferries]].

[[File:D.Casanova AJA 2017.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Ferries]]

Ajaccio has also become a stopover for cruises with a total of 418,086 passengers in 2007{{mdash}}by far the largest in Corsica and the second-largest in France (after Marseille, but ahead of Nice/[[Villefranche-sur-Mer]] and [[Cannes]]). The goal is for Ajaccio to eventually become the premier French port for cruises as well as being a main departure point.<ref name="corse-du-sud.cci.fr"/>

[[File:PSajaccio8629.jpg|thumb|right|The Fishing Port]]

The Port function of the city is also served by the commercial, pleasure craft, and artisanal fisheries (3 ports).<ref name="corse-du-sud.cci.fr"/>

===Railways===
The [[railway station]] in Ajaccio belongs to ''[[Chemins de fer de la Corse]]'' and is located near the port at the ''Square Pierre Griffi''. It connects Ajaccio to [[Corte, Haute-Corse|Corte]], [[Bastia]] (3 h 25 min) and [[Calvi, Haute-Corse|Calvi]].

There are two optional stops:
*''Salines Halt'' north of the city in the district of the same name
*''Campo dell'Oro Halt'' near the airport
In addition, the municipality has introduced an additional commuter service between Mezzana station in the suburbs and [[gare d'Ajaccio|Ajaccio station]] located in the centre.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Schedules {{!}} Le train Corse - Chemin de fer de la Corse|url=https://www.train-corse.com/en/schedules|access-date=2020-08-21|website=www.train-corse.com}}</ref>

==Administration==
[[File:Hôtel de préfecture de Corse-du-Sud.jpg|thumb|The Préfecture]]

Ajaccio was successively:
*Capital of the district of the department of [[Corsica]] in 1790 to 1793
*Capital of the ''department of [[Liamone]]'' from 1793 to 1811
*Capital of the ''department of Corsica'' from 1811 to 1975
*Capital of the region and the ''collectivité territoriale de Corse'' since 1970 and the department of [[Corse-du-Sud]] since 1976

Ajaccio remained (with some interruptions) an electoral stronghold of the Bonapartist (CCB) party until the municipal elections of 2001. The outgoing municipality was then beaten by a left-wing coalition led by [[Simon Renucci]] which gathered [[Social Democratic Party (France)|Social Democrats]], [[French Communist Party|Communists]], and [[Charles Napoleon]] - the pretender to the imperial throne.

'''List of Successive Mayors of Ajaccio'''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.francegenweb.org/mairesgenweb/resultcommune.php?id=43|title=francegenweb.org - votre service benevole d'assistance genealogique|first=Robert|last=Weinland|website=www.francegenweb.org|access-date=31 May 2017}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed"
! colspan=5 | [[Mayor (France)|Mayors]] from the French Revolution to 1935
|-
! From !! To !! Name !! Party !! Position
|-
| 1790 || 1790 || Jean Jèrome Levie  ||  || 
|-
| 1791 || 1796 || Vincenté Guitera ||  || 
|-
| 1796 || 1796 || Lodovico Ornano ||  || 
|-
| 1798 || 1798 || François Marie Levie  ||  || 
|-
| 1798 || 1798 || Thomas Tavera ||  || 
|-
| 1798 || 1798 || Antoine Tagliafico ||  || 
|-
| 1799 || 1800 || J. B. Pozzo di Borgo ||  || 
|-
| 1800 || 1801 || Jean Jèrome Levie ||  || 
|-
| 1801 || 1805 || Pierre Stephanopoli ||  || 
|-
| 1805 || 1815 || François Levie  ||  || 
|-
| 1815 || 1815 || Jean Noël Martinenghi ||  || 
|-
| 1815 || 1816 || François Levie ||  || 
|-
| 1816 || 1817 || Georges Stephanopoli ||  || 
|-
| 1817 || 1819 || Adorno de Baciocchi ||  || 
|-
| 1819 || 1822 || J. B. Colonna de Bozzi ||  || 
|-
| 1822 || 1826 || J. B. Spotorno ||  || 
|-
| 1826 || 1832 || Constantin Stephanopoli ||  || 
|-
| 1832 || 1837 || Cunéo d'Ornano ||  || 
|-
| 1837 || 1848 || Paul François Peraldi ||  || 
|-
| 1848 || 1848 || Bernardin Poli ||  || 
|-
| 1848 || 1855 || Laurent Zevaco ||  || 
|-
| 1855 || 1860 || Antoine Decosmi ||  || 
|-
| 1860 || 1867 || François Xavier Braccini  ||  || 
|-
| 1867 || 1870 || Louis Nyer ||  || 
|-
| 1870 || 1870 || Joseph Fil ||  || 
|-
| 1870 || 1871 || Nicolas Peraldi ||  || 
|-
| 1871 || 1871 || Joseph Fil ||  || 
|-
| 1871 || 1873 || Nicolas Peraldi ||  || 
|-
| 1873 || 1876 || F. X. Forcioli Conti ||  || 
|-
| 1876 || 1877 || Nicolas Peraldi ||  || 
|-
| 1877 || 1877 || Joseph Fil ||  || 
|-
| 1877 || 1884 || Nicolas Peraldi || [[Republic]]ain || 
|-
| 1884 || 1893 || Joseph Pugliesi || CCB<ref>Comité central bonapartiste</ref> || 
|-
| 1893 || 1896 || Pierre Petreto || CCB || 
|-
| 1896 || 1900 || Joseph Pugliesi || CCB || 
|-
| 1900 || 1904 || Pierre Bodoy || CCB || 
|-
| 1904 || 1919 || Dominique Pugliesi Conti || CCB || 
|-
| 1919 || 1925 || Jérôme Peri || Radical || 
|-
| 1925 || 1931 || Dominique Paoli || CCB || 
|-
| 1931 || 1931 || Joseph Marie François Spoturno ||  ||
|-
| 1931 || 1934 || [[François Coty]] || CCB || 
|-
| 1934 || 1935 || Hyacinthe Campiglia || CCB || 
|}

{| class="wikitable collapsible"
! colspan=5 | [[Mayor (France)|Mayors]] from 1935
|-
! From !! To !! Name !! Party !! Position
|-
| 1935 || 1943 || Dominique Paoli || CCB || 
|-
| 1943 || 1945 || Eugène Macchini || CCB || 
|-
| 1945 || 1947 || Arthur Giovoni || [[French Communist Party|PCF]] ||
|-
| 1947 || 1949 || Nicéphore Stephanopoli de Commene || CCB || 
|-
| 1949 || 1953 || Antoine Serafini || CCB || 
|-
| 1953 || 1959 || François Maglioli || CCB || 
|-
| 1959 || 1964 || Antoine Serafini || CCB || 
|-
| 1964 || 1975 || Pascal Rossini || CCB || 
|-
| 1975 || 1994 || Charles Napoléon Ornano  || CCB || 
|-
| 1994 || 2001 || Marc Marcangeli || CCB || Doctor
|-
| 2001 || 2014 || [[Simon Renucci]] || CSD<ref>Corse social-democrate</ref> || Doctor
|-
| 2014 || 2014 || [[Laurent Marcangeli]] ||  || 
|-
| 2014 || 2015 || ''vacant'' || ||
|-
| 2015 || 2022 || [[Laurent Marcangeli]] ||  || 
|-
| 2022 || 2026 || Stéphane Sbraggia ||  || 
|}

===Quarters===
10 Quarters are recognized by the municipality.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ajaccio.fr/|title=Site officiel de la Ville d'Ajaccio - Bienvenue à Ajaccio|website=Site officiel de la Ville d'Ajaccio - Bienvenue à Ajaccio}}</ref>
*''Cannes-Binda'': an area north of the city, consisting of [[Housing estate]]s, classed as a [[Sensitive urban zone]] (ZUS) with Les Salines, subject to a policy of urban renewal
*''Centre Ville'': The tourist heart of the city consisting of shopping streets and major thoroughfares
*''Casone'': a bourgeois neighbourhood with an affluent population located in the former winter resort on the heights of the southern city.
*''[[Les Jardins de l'Empereur]]'': a neighbourhood classified as a Sensitive urban zone (ZUS) on the heights of the city, consisting of housing estates overlooking the city
*''Mezzavia'': northern quarter of the town with several subdivisions and areas of business and economic activities
*''Octroi-Sainte Lucie'': constitutes the northern part of the city centre near the port and the railway station
*''Pietralba'': quarter northeast of the city, classified ZUS
*''Résidence des Îles'': quarter to the south of the city near the tourist route of ''Sanguinaires'' in a quality environment
*''Saint-Jean'': collection of buildings for a population with low incomes, close to the historic urban core of the city, classified as a Sensitive urban zone (ZUS)
*''Saline'': quarter north of the city, consisting of large apartment blocks, classed as a Sensitive urban zone (ZUS) with ''Les Cannes'', subject to a policy of urban renewal
*''Vazzio'': quarter northeast of the city, near the [[Ajaccio airport|airport]], the EDF Central, and the [[Stade François Coty|Francois Coty stadium]].

===Intercommunality===
Since December 2001, Ajaccio has been part of the ''Communauté d'agglomération du Pays Ajaccien'' with nine other communes: [[Afa, Corse-du-Sud|Afa]], [[Alata, Corse-du-Sud|Alata]], [[Appietto]], [[Cuttoli-Corticchiato]], [[Peri, Corse-du-Sud|Peri]], [[Sarrola-Carcopino]], [[Tavaco]], [[Valle-di-Mezzana]], and [[Villanova, Corse-du-Sud|Villanova]].

===Origins===
The geopolitical arrangements of the commune are slightly different from those typical of Corsica and [[France]]. Usually an arrondissement includes cantons and a canton includes one to several communes including the chef-lieu, "chief place", from which the canton takes its name. The city of Ajaccio is one commune, but it contains four cantons, Cantons 1–4, and a fraction of Canton 5. The latter contains three other communes: [[Bastelicaccia]], [[Alata, Corse-du-Sud|Alata]] and [[Villanova, Corse-du-Sud|Villanova]], making a total of four communes for the five cantons of Ajaccio.<ref name=decret>{{cite web|url=http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?cidTexte=JORFTEXT000028658302|title=Décret n° 2014-229 du 24 février 2014 portant délimitation des cantons dans le département de la Corse-du-Sud|access-date=31 May 2017}}</ref>

Each canton contains a certain number of quartiers, "quarters". Cantons 1, 2, 3, 4 are located along the Gulf of Ajaccio from west to east, while 5 is a little further up the valleys of the Gravona and the Prunelli Rivers. These political divisions subdivide the population of Ajaccio into units that can be more democratically served but they do not give a true picture of the size of Ajaccio. In general language, "greater Ajaccio" includes about 100,000 people with all the medical, educational, utility and transportational facilities of a big city. Up until World War II it was still possible to regard the city as being a settlement of narrow streets localized to a part of the harbour or the Gulf of Ajaccio: such bucolic descriptions do not fit the city of today, and travelogues intended for mountain or coastal recreational areas do not generally apply to Corsica's few big cities.

The arrondissement contains other cantons that extend generally up the two rivers into central Corsica.

==Twin towns – sister cities==
{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in France}}
Ajaccio is [[Sister city|twinned]] with:<ref>{{cite web |title=Jumelage Ajaccio – La Maddalena: 29 ans déjà|url=https://www.ajaccio.fr/Jumelage-Ajaccio-La-Maddalena-29-ans-deja_a8963.html|website=ajaccio.fr|publisher=Ajaccio|language=fr|date=2020|access-date=2021-04-20}}</ref>
*{{flagicon|ITA}} [[La Maddalena]], Italy (1991)

==Population==
The population of Ajaccio increased sharply after 1960 due to migration from rural areas and the coming of "[[Pied-Noir]]s" (French Algerians), immigrants from the [[Maghreb]] and French from mainland France.

{{Historical populations
| align = none
| cols = 2
| percentages = pagr
| source = EHESS<ref name=ehess>{{Cassini-Ehess|339|Ajaccio}}</ref> and INSEE (1968-2017)<ref name=pophist>[https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/4515315?geo=COM-2A004#ancre-POP_T1 Population en historique depuis 1968], INSEE</ref>
| graph-pos = bottom
|1800 |6570
|1806 |7203
|1821 |7401
|1831 |8920
|1836 |9003
|1841 |9834
|1846 |11541
|1851 |11944
|1856 |11049
|1861 |14089
|1866 |14558
|1872 |16545
|1876 |17050
|1881 |18005
|1886 |17576
|1891 |20197
|1896 |20561
|1901 |21779
|1906 |22264
|1911 |19227
|1921 |22614
|1926 |23392
|1931 |23917
|1936 |37146
|1946 |31434
|1954 |32997
|1962 |33642
|1968 |43438
|1975 |49065
|1982 |54089
|1990 |58315
|1999 |52880
|2007 |64432
|2012 |66245
|2017 |70659
}}

==Health==
Ajaccio has three hospital sites:
*the ''Misericordia Hospital'', built in 1950, is located on the heights of the city centre. This is the main medical facility in the region.
*The Annex Eugenie.
*the [[Psychiatric Hospital]] of ''Castelluccio'' is {{convert|5|km|0|abbr=off}} west of the city centre and is also home of cancer services and long-stay patients.<ref>[http://www.castelluccio.fr Castelluccio - Public Establishment of Health] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721025852/http://www.castelluccio.fr/ |date=21 July 2011 }} {{in lang|fr}}</ref>

==Education==
Ajaccio is the headquarters of the Academy of Corsica.

The city of Ajaccio has:<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ac-corse.fr/|title=Académie de Corse|website=Académie de Corse}}</ref>
*18 nursery schools (16 public and 2 private)
*17 primary schools (15 public and 2 private)
*6 colleges
**5 Public Schools:
*** Collège Arthur-Giovoni
*** Collège des Padule
*** Collège Laetitia Bonaparte
*** Collège Fesch
*** EREA
** 1 Private School: Institution Saint Paul
* 3 sixth-form colleges/senior high schools
** 2 public schools:
*** Lycée Laetitia Bonaparte
*** Lycée Fesch
** 1 private: Institution Saint Paul
* 2 LEP (vocational high schools)
** Lycée Finosello
** Lycée Jules Antonini

Higher education is undeveloped except for a few BTS and IFSI, the [[University of Corsica Pascal Paoli]] is located in [[Corte, Haute-Corse|Corte]]. A research facility of [[Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique|INRA]] is also located on Ajaccio.<ref>French Cities" by Fabriès-Verfaillie et Stragiotti, 2000 {{in lang|fr}}</ref>

==Culture and heritage==
Ajaccio has a varied tourism potential, with both a cultural framework in the centre of the city and a natural heritage around the coves and beaches of the [[Mediterranean Sea]], as well as the Natura 2000 reserve of the ''îles Sanguinaires''.

===Civil heritage===
[[File:City hall of Ajaccio.jpg|thumb|The [[Hôtel de Ville, Ajaccio|Hotel de Ville]]]]
[[File:Ajaccio Maison de naissance de Napoléon.jpg|thumb|Napoleon Bonaparte's House]]
The commune has many buildings and structures that are registered as historical monuments:
*The '''Monument to General Abbatucci''' in the Place Abbatucci (1854){{Mérimée Icon}}<ref>Ministry of Culture, Mérimée {{Mérimée|IA2A001904|IA2A001904 Monument to General Abbatucci}} {{in lang|fr}}{{Camera}}</ref>
*The '''Monument to Napoleon I''' in the Place d'Austerlitz (20th century){{Mérimée Icon}}<ref>Ministry of Culture, Mérimée {{Mérimée|IA2A001900|IA2A001900 Monument to Napoleon I}} {{in lang|fr}}{{Camera}}</ref>
*The '''Baciocchi Family Mansion''' at 9 Rue Bonaparte (18th century){{Mérimée Icon}}<ref>Ministry of Culture, Mérimée {{Mérimée|PA00099141|PA00099141 Baciocchi Family Mansion}} {{in lang|fr}}</ref>
*The '''Fesch Palace''' at 48 bis Rue Cardinal-Fesch (1827){{Mérimée Icon}}<ref>Ministry of Culture, Mérimée {{Mérimée|PA00099071|PA00099071 Fesch Palace}} {{in lang|fr}}</ref>
*The '''Monument to the First Consul''' in the Place Foch (1850){{Mérimée Icon}}<ref>Ministry of Culture, Mérimée {{Mérimée|IA2A001905|IA2A001905 Monument to the First Consul}} {{in lang|fr}}{{Camera}}</ref>
*The '''Peraldi House''' at 18 Rue Forcioli-Conti (1820){{Mérimée Icon}}<ref>Ministry of Culture, Mérimée {{Mérimée|PA00099067|PA00099067 Peraldi House}} {{in lang|fr}}</ref>
*The '''Grand Hotel''' at Cours Grandval (1869){{Mérimée Icon}}<ref>Ministry of Culture, Mérimée {{Mérimée|PA00099134|PA00099134 Grand Hotel}} {{in lang|fr}}{{Camera}}</ref>
*The old '''Château Conti''' at Cours Grandval (19th century){{Mérimée Icon}}<ref>Ministry of Culture, Mérimée {{Mérimée|PA00099063|PA00099063 Château Conti}} {{in lang|fr}}</ref>
*The '''Monument to Napoleon and his brothers''' in the Place du General de Gaulle (1864){{Mérimée Icon}}<ref>Ministry of Culture, Mérimée {{Mérimée|IA2A001903|IA2A001903 Monument to Napoleon and his brothers}} {{in lang|fr}}{{Camera}}</ref>
*The '''Monument to Cardinal Fesch''' at the Cour du Musée Fesch (1856){{Mérimée Icon}}<ref>Ministry of Culture, Mérimée {{Mérimée|IA2A001902|IA2A001902 Monument to Cardinal Fesch}} {{in lang|fr}}{{Camera}}</ref>
*The old '''Alban Factory''' at 89 Cours Napoleon (1913){{Mérimée Icon}}<ref>Ministry of Culture, Mérimée {{Mérimée|PA00099142|PA00099142 Alban Factory}} {{in lang|fr}}</ref>
*The '''Milelli House''' in the Saint-Antoine Quarter (17th century){{Mérimée Icon}}<ref>Ministry of Culture, Mérimée {{Mérimée|PA00099065|PA00099065 Milelli House}} {{in lang|fr}}</ref>
*The '''Hotel Palace-Cyrnos''' (1880),{{Mérimée Icon}}<ref>Ministry of Culture, Mérimée {{Mérimée|PA00099135|PA00099135 Hotel Palace-Cyrnos}} {{in lang|fr}}</ref> an old Luxury Hotel from the 19th century and a famous palace of the old days in the quarter "for foreigners" now converted into housing.
*The '''Lantivy Palace''' (1837),{{Mérimée Icon}}<ref>Ministry of Culture, Mérimée {{Mérimée|PA00099128|PA00099128 Lantivy Palace}} {{in lang|fr}}{{Camera}}</ref> an Italian palace now headquarters of the prefecture of Corsica.
*The '''[[Hôtel de Ville, Ajaccio|Hotel de Ville]]''' (1836){{Mérimée Icon}}<ref>Ministry of Culture, Mérimée {{Mérimée|PA00099127|PA00099127 Hotel de Ville}} {{in lang|fr}}</ref>
*'''Napoleon Bonaparte's House''' (17th century){{Mérimée Icon}}<ref>Ministry of Culture, Mérimée {{Mérimée|PA00099066|PA00099066 Napoleon Bonaparte's House}} {{in lang|fr}}</ref> now a national museum: the [[Maison Bonaparte]]
*The old '''[[Lazaretto]] of Aspretto''' (1843){{Mérimée Icon}}<ref>Ministry of Culture, Mérimée {{Mérimée|PA00099064|PA00099064 Lazaretto of Aspretto}} {{in lang|fr}}</ref>
*The '''[[Citadel]]''' (1554){{Mérimée Icon}}<ref>Ministry of Culture, Mérimée {{Mérimée|PA00099062|PA00099062 Citadel}} {{in lang|fr}}</ref>
*The '''Sawmill''' at Les Salines (1944){{Mérimée Icon}}<ref>Ministry of Culture, Mérimée {{Mérimée|IA2A001311|IA2A001311 Sawmill}} {{in lang|fr}}</ref>
*The '''Lighthouse''' on the Sanguinaires Islands (1844){{Mérimée Icon}}<ref>Ministry of Culture, Mérimée {{Mérimée|IA2A001274|IA2A001274 Lighthouse}} {{in lang|fr}}</ref>

;Other sites of interest
*The '''Monument in the Place du Casone'''
*The '''old town''' and the '''Borgu''' are typically Mediterranean with their narrow streets and picturesque buildings
*The '''Place Bonaparte''', a quarter frequented chiefly by winter visitors attracted by the mild climate of the town<ref name="EB1911"/>
*The '''[[Musée Fesch]]''' houses a large collection of Italian Renaissance paintings
*The '''Bandera Museum''', a History Museum of Mediterranean Corsica
*The '''[[Bibliothèque Fesch|Municipal library]]''', in the north wing of Musée Fesch, has early printed books from as early as the 14th century<ref>{{cite web|title=Histoire de la Bibliothèque Fesch|url=http://www.bibliotheque.ajaccio.fr/default/patrimoine.aspx|access-date=2021-01-02}}</ref>
*The area known as the Foreigners' Quarter has a number of old palaces, villas, and buildings once built for the wintering British in the [[Belle Époque]] such as the [[Anglican Church]] and the Grand Hotel Continental.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ajaccio, the quarter for foreigners|url=https://www.ajaccio-tourisme.com/ajaccio-le-quartier-des-etrangers|website=Pays d'Ajaccio|access-date=2021-01-02|archive-date=17 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210117162622/https://www.ajaccio-tourisme.com/ajaccio-le-quartier-des-etrangers|url-status=dead}}</ref> Some of the buildings are in bad condition and very degraded, others were destroyed for the construction of modern buildings.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ajaccio : quelle mutation pour le quartier des Etrangers?|website=Corse-Matin|date=27 February 2016 |url=https://www.corsematin.com/articles/ajaccio-quelle-mutation-pour-le-quartier-des-etrangers-59548|access-date=2021-01-02}}</ref>
*The '''[[Genoese tower]]s''': [[Torra di Capu di Fenu]], [[Torra di a Parata]], and [[Torra di Castelluchju]] in the Îles Sanguinaires archipelago
*The '''Square Pierre Griffi''' (in front of the railway station), named after a hero of the Corsican Resistance and one of the members of the {{ill|Pearl Harbour secret mission|fr|Mission secrète Pearl Harbour}}, the first operation launched in occupied Corsica to coordinate resistance
*The '''Statue of Commandant Jean L'Herminier''' (in front of the ferry terminal), commander of the [[French submarine Casabianca (1935)]] which actively participated in the struggle for the liberation of Corsica in September 1943

==Religious heritage==
[[File:Ajaccio cathedrale barque.jpg|thumb|[[Cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption d'Ajaccio|Cathedral of Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption]]]]

The town is the seat of a bishopric dating at least from the 7th century. It has tribunals of first instance and of commerce, training colleges, a communal college, a museum and a library; the three latter are established in the Palais Fesch, founded by [[Cardinal Fesch]], who was born at Ajaccio in 1763.<ref name="EB1911"/>

The commune has several religious buildings and structures that are registered as historical monuments:
*The former '''Episcopal Palace''' at 24 Rue Bonaparte (1622){{Mérimée Icon}}<ref>Ministry of Culture, Mérimée {{Mérimée|PA00099070|PA00099070 Episcopal Palace}} {{in lang|fr}}</ref>
*The '''[[Oratory (worship)|Oratory]] of Saint Roch''' at Rue Cardinal-Fesch (1599){{Mérimée Icon}}<ref>Ministry of Culture, Mérimée {{Mérimée|PA00099069|PA00099069 Oratory of Saint Roch}} {{in lang|fr}}</ref>
*The '''Chapel of Saint Erasme or Sant'Erasmu''' at 22 Rue Forcioli-Conti (17th century){{Mérimée Icon}}<ref>Ministry of Culture, Mérimée {{Mérimée|PA00099061|PA00099061 Chapel of Saint Erasme or Sant'Erasmu}} {{in lang|fr}}</ref>
*The '''[[Oratory (worship)|Oratory]] of Saint John the Baptist''' at Rue du Roi-de-Dome (1565){{Mérimée Icon}}<ref>Ministry of Culture, Mérimée {{Mérimée|PA00099068|PA00099068 Oratory of Saint John the Baptist}} {{in lang|fr}}</ref>
*The '''[[Ajaccio Cathedral|Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta]]''' at Rue Saint-Charles (1582){{Mérimée Icon}}<ref>Ministry of Culture, Mérimée {{Mérimée|PA00099058|PA00099058 Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta}} {{in lang|fr}}{{Camera}}</ref> from the [[Renaissance]] which depended on the [[diocese of Ajaccio]] and where Napoleon was baptized with its organ from Cavaillé-Coll.<ref>[http://orgue.free.fr/ Ajaccio Cathedral, Organ of the Cathedral of Cavaillé-Coll] (1849) - Cicchero (1997) {{in lang|fr}}</ref>
*The '''Chapel of the Greeks''' on the Route des Sanguiunaires (1619){{Mérimée Icon}}<ref>Ministry of Culture, Mérimée {{Mérimée|PA00099059|PA00099059 Chapel of the Greeks}} {{in lang|fr}}{{Camera}}</ref>
*The Early Christian '''Baptistery of Saint John''' (6th century){{Mérimée Icon}}<ref>Ministry of Culture, Mérimée {{Mérimée|PA2A000004|PA2A000004 Baptistery of Saint John}} {{in lang|fr}}</ref>
*The '''Imperial Chapel''' (1857){{Mérimée Icon}}<ref>Ministry of Culture, Mérimée {{Mérimée|PA00099060|PA00099060 Imperial Chapel}} {{in lang|fr}}{{Camera}}</ref> houses the graves of Napoleon's parents and his brothers and sisters.

[[File:Chiesa di Saint-Roch ad Ajaccio.jpg|thumb|Church of Saint-Roch, on the ''Cours Napoléon'']]
;Other religious sites of interest
*The '''Church of Saint Roch''', [[Neoclassical architecture]] by Ajaccien project architect Barthélémy Maglioli (1885)

==Environmental heritage==
*'''Sanguinaires Archipelago''':
**The '''Route des Sanguinaires''' runs along the southern coast of the city after the Saint François Beach. It is lined with villas and coves and beaches. Along the road is the Ajaccio cemetery with the grave of Corsican singer [[Tino Rossi]].
**At the mouth of the Route des Sanguinaires is the '''Pointe de la Parata''' near the archipelago and the [[lighthouse]].

<gallery>
File:Ajaccio Plage.jpg|The Saint François Beach
File:Ajaccio Golfe1JPG.jpg|Gulf of Ajaccio
File:PSajaccio8440tonemapped.jpg|The ''iles sanguinaires'' and views of la Parata from the ''sentier des crêtes''
File:PSajaccio8432tonemapped.jpg|Along the ''sentier des crêtes'': Skull Rock
</gallery>

*The '''Sentier des Crêtes''' (Crest Trail) starts from the city centre and is an easy hike offering splendid views of the Gulf of Ajaccio. The shores of the Gulf are dotted with a multitude of small coves and beaches ideal for swimming and scuba diving.
*Many small paths traversing the maquis (high ground covered in thick vegetation) in the commune from which the [[Maquis (World War II)|Maquis]] resistance network was named.

==Interests==
*The city has two marinas and a [[casino]].
*The main activities are concentrated in the city centre on the ''Route des Sanguinaires'' (cinemas, bars, clubs etc.).

==In popular culture==
Films made in Ajaccio include:
*'''[[Napoléon (1927 film)|Napoléon]]''', one of the last successful French silent films by [[Abel Gance]] in 1927.
*'''Les Radonneurs''', a French film directed by [[Philippe Harel]] in 1997.
*'''Les Sanguinaires''', a film by [[Laurent Cantet]] in 1998.
*'''[[The Amazing Race (American TV series)|The Amazing Race]]''', an American TV series by [[Elise Doganieri]] and [[Bertram van Munster]] in 2001 (season 6 episode 9).
*'''[[L'Enquête Corse]]''', directed by [[Alain Berberian]] in 2004.
*'''Trois petites filles''', a French film directed by Jean-Loup Hubert in 2004.
*'''[[Queen to Play|Joueuse]]''' ([[Queen to Play]]), a French film directed by Caroline Bottaro in 2009.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.metropolefilms.com/data/ftp/Joueuse/Dossier%20de%20Presse%20-%20Metropole%20Films.pdf | title=Dossier de presse - Joueuse | last=Mingotaud | first=Mélanie | date=2009 | access-date=27 December 2017 | language=fr | trans-title=Press Release - Joueuse | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171229052143/http://www.metropolefilms.com/data/ftp/Joueuse/Dossier%20de%20Presse%20-%20Metropole%20Films.pdf | archive-date=29 December 2017 | url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Sports==
There are various sports facilities developed throughout the city.

*[[AC Ajaccio]] is a French [[Ligue 2]] football club which plays at the [[Stade François Coty]] (13,500 seats) in the north-east of the city
*[[Gazélec Ajaccio|Gazélec Football Club Ajaccio]], in [[Championnat National]], football club which plays at the [[Stade Ange Casanova]] located at ''Mezzavia'', 2,900 seats.
*GFCO Ajaccio handball
*GFCO Ajaccio Volleyball
*GFCO Ajaccio Basketball
*Vignetta Racecourse

==Notable people==
[[File:Jacques-Louis David - The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|180px|Many members of the [[Bonaparte family]] were born in Ajaccio, including [[Napoleon]]]]
*[[Carlo Buonaparte]] (1746–1785), politician, father of Napoleon Bonaparte
*[[Felice Pasquale Baciocchi]] (1762–1841), general of the armies of the Revolution and the Empire, brother in law of the Emperor Napoleon 1st, [[Grand Duke of Tuscany]]
*[[Joseph Fesch]] (1763–1839), [[Cardinal (Catholicism)|cardinal]]
*[[Joseph Bonaparte]] (1768–1844), French statesman, [[King of Naples]], [[King of Spain]]
*[[Napoleon Bonaparte]] (1769–1821), Emperor of France
*[[Lucien Bonaparte]] (1775–1840), [[Prince of Canino and Musignano]], Interior Minister of France
*[[Elisa Bonaparte]] (1777–1820), Grand Duchess of Tuscany
*[[Louis Bonaparte]] (1778–1846), King of [[Kingdom of Holland|Holland]]
*[[Pauline Bonaparte]] (1780–1825), Duchess of [[Guastalla]], [[Prince of Sulmona|Princess Consort of Sulmona and Rossano]]
*[[Caroline Bonaparte]] (1782–1839), Queen Consort of Naples and Sicily
*[[Jérôme Bonaparte]] (1784–1860), King of [[Kingdom of Westphalia|Westphalia]]
*[[Danielle Casanova]] (1909–1943), Resistance member
*[[Emma Choury]] (1916–2001), trade unionist
*[[François Coty]] (1874–1934), perfumer, businessman, newspaper publisher and politician
*[[Irène Bordoni]] (1895–1953), singer and actress
*[[Tino Rossi]] (1907–1983), singer and actor
*[[Michel Giacometti]] (1929–1990), [[ethnomusicologist]]
*[[François Duprat]] (1941–1978), writer
*[[Michel Ferracci-Porri]] (born 1949), writer
*[[Jean-Michel Cavalli]] (born 1959), football player and manager
*[[Alizée]] (born 1984), singer

==Military==
Units that were stationed in Ajaccio:
*163rd Infantry Regiment, 1906
*173rd Infantry Regiment
*The Aspretto naval airbase for seaplanes 1938–1993

==Gallery==
{{expand section|date=January 2024}}
<gallery>
File:Ajaccio.jpg|1914 city map
File:Ajaccio MN1JPG.jpg|Napoleon's birth house
</gallery>

==See also==
*[[Diocese of Ajaccio]]
*[[Communes of the Corse-du-Sud department]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
{{Wikivoyage}}
*[https://www.ajaccio.fr Official website] {{in lang|fr}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20071020154127/http://www.ca-ajaccien.fr/ The Communauté d'Agglomération du Pays Ajaccien (CAPA) website] {{in lang|fr}}
*[https://www.ajaccio-tourisme.com Tourism Office of Ajaccio website] {{in lang|fr}}
*[https://visitajaccio.com Tourist Info Visit Ajaccio] {{in lang|en}}

{{Geographic location
|title     = Neighbouring communes and towns<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.google.com/maps/place/Ajaccio,+France/@41.9227265,8.705841,13563m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x12da69b3d29d2383:0x40819a5fd955f00?hl=en|title=Google Maps|website=Google Maps|access-date=31 May 2017}}</ref>
|Centre    = Ajaccio 
|North     = [[Alata, Corse-du-Sud|Alata]]
|Northeast = [[Afa, Corse-du-Sud|Afa]]
|East      = [[Bastelicaccia]]
|Southeast = 
|South     = Mediterranean Sea
|Southwest = [[Mediterranean Sea]]
|West      = Mediterranean Sea
|Northwest = [[Villanova, Corse-du-Sud|Villanova]]
}}

{{Prefectures of departments of France}}
{{Prefectures of regions of France}}
{{Corse-du-Sud communes}}
{{List of European capitals by region}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Ajaccio| ]]
<!--DO NOT REMOVE. THEY ARE STANDARD CATEGORIES FOR ALL FRENCH COMMUNES AND PREFECTURES-->
[[Category:Communes of Corse-du-Sud]]
[[Category:Prefectures in France]]