Flag of Corsica
Officially Collectivity of Corsica
What the flag looks like
A white field with a black Moor's head in profile, facing the hoist, wearing a white headband tied at the back of the head.
What it means
The Moor's head is an old Corsican emblem; Pasquale Paoli is said to have raised the band from the Moor's eyes to his forehead as a sign of the island's liberation.
How to remember it
Corsica
is a single Moor's head alone on white; Sardinia
shows four of them, split by a red cross.
Fun facts
- Pasquale Paoli made it the flag of the independent Corsican Republic in 1755; it fell out of use after France took the island and was re-adopted as the regional flag in 1980.
- Napoleon Bonaparte was born in Ajaccio in 1769, the year French troops completed their conquest of the island.
Corsica at a glance
- Status
- Territorial collectivity of France
- Sovereign state
- France
- Capital
- Ajaccio
- Region
- Territorial collectivity of France
- Population
- 365,636
- Area
- 8,680 km²
- Languages
- French, Corsican
- Currency
- Euro (€)
- Flag adopted
- 1755
Flags often confused with Corsica
- Sardinia: Corsica and Sardinia both show a black Moor's head with a white headband on white. Corsica has a single large head and no cross; Sardinia has four smaller heads separated by a red cross.