Le Tour to Challenge Ancient Aragon?

The Sticky Bottle Team is excited to hear the announcement of the stages of the 2013 Tour de France.  It is the 100^th anniversary of the event and for the first time in ten years each stage will be within France.  The Tour will begin on June 21 in Corsica (more on that later) and will include more mountains and shorter time trials than previous tours.  Stage 18 for example will have the riders climb the fearsome Alpe d’Huez twice.  The riders will have to negotiate the mountain’s 21 twists and turns, turn around, and do it all over again.  The final stage may be the most unique; Stage 21 will begin from inside the Palace of Versailles and for the first time ever the peloton will circle the Arc de Triomphe rather than turn just before the famous structure.  The race will end at approximately 9 pm and will be only Tour to end at night.

Now back to Corsica, the SBT wanted to know more about the island.  It is an island off the French coast but is actually closer to Italy.  Corsica is a rather diverse little island with the highest mountain peaks of all the Mediterranean islands and over 600 miles of coastline.  It is the birthplace of Napoleon and the family home is a museum.  You won’t find any remains there however, they can be found in Paris under the dome of Les Invilades.  Corsica covers about 5,500 square miles and is the third largest island in the Mediterranean.  The mountain range, known as the Corsican Penine bisects the island. Monte Cinto is the island’s highest peak at nearly 9,000 feet.  Corsica has five nature preserves and one international marine preserve. Boaters and hikers abound on the island with 14 marinas with over 8,000 moorings and over 900 miles of footpaths.  

A testa di moru -- "The Moor's Head"

Perhaps the most unique Corsican feature is its flag.   In the 13^th century and for many centuries, Corsica was a part of the Kingdom of Aragon (today Northern Spain).  Aragon was expanded following the defeat of the Moors on the Iberian Peninsula.  Aragon used the symbol of a Moor’s head on its flags to illustrate the Moor’s defeat.  The Moors were Muslim and their defeat pleased the Pope who, in appreciation, awarded Sardinia and Corsica to Aragon.  The Corsicans, noting the flag’s battle toughness, adopted the Moor’s head (“A testa di moru”) during their war with Genoa.  It became flag of Corsica in the 1500s and was officially recognized in 1755.  At one time the Moor’s eyes were blindfolded by the white bandana but the covering was lifted in 1762 to symbolize the freedom of the Corsican people.   Visit our website: www.stickybottleteam.teampages.com