科西嘉岛指南The Rough Guide to Corsica 4th ed.

作者:Abram, David

页数:472

出版时间:2003-12

价格:98.00元

isbn号码:9781843530473

具体描述

INTRODUCTION ‘Kallisté’ – ‘the most beautiful’ – was what the ancient Greeks called Corsica, and the compliment holds as true today as ever. In few corners of the Mediterranean will you find water as translucent, sand as soft and white, and weather so dependably warm and sunny; and nowhere else has seascapes as dramatic as the red porphyry Calanches of the west coast, and the striated white cliffs in the far south. Crowning it all, a mass of forested valleys herringbone from the island’s granite spine, which rises to a mighty 2706m at Monte Cinto, snow-encrusted even at the height of summer. That these extraordinary landscapes have survived the ferro-concrete revolution of the past few decades unscathed seems miraculous when you consider the fate of comparably beautiful parts of southern Europe. Nearly two million visitors descend on the island annually (two thirds of them in July and August), yet purpose-built resorts are few and far between, while high-rise blocks remain outnumbered by extravagant Baroque churches and old fortified houses built to protect families formerly embroiled in vendettas. Overlooked by Corsica’s trademark seventeenth-century watchtowers, long stretches of the shore remain backed by unbroken maquis, while forests of holm oak, chestnut trees and magnificent Laricio pines carpet the interior valleys, dotted with pretty stone villages. "Provence without the Brits" is how rural Corsica is often described in holiday brochures, but the gloss fails to convey the island’s distinctive grandeur: the wildness of its uplands, the vivid atmosphere of its remote settlements, and arresting emptiness of its valleys and woodlands, where wild boar are still more numerous than people. Corsica’s pristine state is largely the legacy of economic neglect, compounded by the impact of two world wars and mass out-migration in the twentieth century. Lured by the island’s abundant natural resources and strategic position on the Mediterranean seaways, successive invaders – from the Greeks, Carthaginians and Romans, to the Aragonese, Italians, British and French – all came and conquered, but none were able to establish lasting prosperity. Nor were they ever able to subjugate fully the rebellious spirit of the islanders themselves, who at various times in their history have mounted fierce resistance to colonial occupation. In the nineteenth century, an armed uprising established a fully independent government led by one of the most charismatic political figures of the Enlightenment, Pascal Paoli. Before it was ruthlessly crushed by the French, the regime introduced the vote for women and a democratic constitution which would later be used a model for that of the United States. Violent opposition to French rule flared up once again in the mid-1970s, since when nationalist paramilitary groups have been waging a bloody campaign against the state and its representatives, both on the island and on the Continent. Among ordinary islanders, support for the armed struggle – whose bombings and shootings have claimed hundreds of lives but seldom, if ever, affect tourists – has dwindled to virtually nil over the past decade. Yet the desire for greater autonomy remains as fervent as ever, in spite of the fact that the island imports virtually everything it needs and receives huge financial support from Paris and the EU. Having had to struggle for centuries to preserve their language and customs, Corsicans have gained a reputation for being suspicious of outsiders. You will, for example, get a very frosty response indeed (or worse) if you attempt to broach the subject of nationalist violence, the Mafia, religious brotherhoods or belief in occult phenomena such as the Evil Eye. But express admiration for those facets of island life which the islanders are overtly proud of – such as their cuisine, fine wines, enigmatic carved menhirs and polyphony singing – and you’ll soon feel the warmth of traditional hospitality. Save for the ubiquitous nationalist graffiti, sprayed-out road signs and odd fire-bombed villa or beach restaurant, Corsica’s dark underbelly is barely discernible these days, as its population is drawn ever closer to the European mainstream. Lasting impressions tend instead to be dominated by the things which have beguiled travellers since Boswell first raved about the island in the mid-eighteenth century: the breathtakingly unspoilt scenery and distinctive Mediterranean way of life which, although bearing strong resemblances to the cultures of neighbouring Tuscany and Sardinia, the French Riviera and Sicily – somehow manages to remain quite different from any of them. Two hundred years of French rule have had limited tangible effect on Corsica, an island where Baroque churches, Genoese fortresses, fervent Catholic rituals and an indigenous language saturated with Tuscan influences show a more profound affinity with neighbouring Italy. During the long era of Italian supremacy the northeast and southwest of Corsica formed two provinces known as Diqua dei monti – "this side of the mountains" – and Dila dei monti, the uncontrollable "side beyond". Today the French départements of Haute-Corse and Corse du Sud roughly coincide with these territories, and remain quite different in feel.

用户评价

不得不承认，这本书在结构设计上花了大量心思，使得查阅信息变得异常高效。尽管内容极其丰富，但你不会感到信息过载。它的分章节逻辑清晰得像瑞士钟表一样精确。比如，如果你只对海滩感兴趣，可以直接跳转到“蔚蓝海岸篇”，里面详尽对比了帕洛姆巴海滩与圣朱利亚湾的细微差别——前者适合家庭放松，后者则以其风帆冲浪条件著称。更妙的是，它对不同旅行预算的规划提供了非常现实的参考：它不会一味推荐最贵的选项，而是会告诉你，如何在紧凑的预算内享受到高品质的体验，比如在非高峰期预订农家乐可以节省多少开支。这本书对于不同季节的适应性描述也极其到位，明确指出了一月份去徒步的风险与乐趣，以及八月份的拥挤程度和应对策略。这种前瞻性和全面性，使得这本书不仅仅是行前准备的工具，更是在整个旅行过程中都保持参考价值的“活地图”。它成功地将详尽的实用信息与引人入胜的文化背景完美地融为了一体。

我是一个偏爱“慢旅行”的背包客，通常对那些为大众游客服务的指南不屑一顾。但《科西嘉岛指南》的第四版，成功地抓住了那种“探索未知”的精髓。它分配了大量的篇幅给那些很少有游客涉足的内部山谷和西部海岸的隐秘村庄。作者们似乎在努力对抗过度旅游的趋势，极力推荐那些尚未被商业化完全侵蚀的地方。例如，它推荐的几个潜水点，描述得极其细致，包括水下能见度、常见鱼类，甚至洋流情况，这对我这个水肺潜水爱好者来说，简直是无价之宝。这本书的“实用提示”部分也做得极其到位，比如关于购买当地特色手工艺品时如何辨别真伪，以及如何与不常说英语的本地人进行有效沟通（附带了一些基础科西嘉语短语）。整体阅读下来，这本书没有给我一种“被推销”的感觉，更像是一位经验丰富的老朋友在私下里分享他的珍藏路线图，那种亲切感和可靠性是其他指南无法比拟的。

这本《科西嘉岛指南The Rough Guide to Corsica 4th ed.》简直是探险者的福音，里面的信息量大到让人惊叹。它不仅仅是一本简单的旅行手册，更像是一部关于这颗地中海明珠的深度文化百科全书。从那些崎岖不平的山脉到迷人的海岸线，作者们似乎把他们对科西嘉岛的热爱倾注在了每一个角落的描述中。我特别喜欢它对当地风俗习惯的细致描绘，比如关于“Vendetta”（血亲复仇）的历史背景，以及岛上不同地区的方言差异，这些细节让整个旅行体验变得立体而丰满。当我计划行程时，它提供的健行路线图清晰得令人难以置信，即便是对于经验尚浅的徒步者，也能找到合适的挑战。而且，它对住宿和餐饮的推荐，从奢华的度假村到朴实的家庭式旅馆（Gîtes），都给出了非常诚恳的评价，不带有任何偏向性，完全是基于实际体验的反馈。我尤其欣赏它在介绍历史遗迹时所采用的叙事方式，仿佛能让人穿越时空，感受到皮萨诺和热那亚统治时期的风云变幻，而不是枯燥的日期罗列。总之，这本书的深度和广度，完全超越了我对一本“指南”的预期，它更像是陪伴我进行一次精神洗礼的伙伴。

拿到这本书时，我首先被它那充满活力的排版吸引住了。与其他旅游指南那种死板、公事公办的风格截然不同，这本第四版的《科西嘉岛指南》读起来轻松愉快，充满了旅行的激情。它没有堆砌那些千篇一律的景点介绍，反而更注重“如何像当地人一样生活”的体验。比如，它推荐了几个鲜为人知的海湾，并详细说明了最佳的到达方式（有些甚至需要四驱车和一点点运气），这些“内部信息”是你在网上搜索普通攻略时绝对找不到的。再说到美食部分，那简直是味蕾的天堂！它不仅列出了著名的科西嘉羊奶酪Brocciu，还深入探讨了当地特色香肠Salumi的制作工艺和不同村庄间的风味差异，甚至附带了一些可以在家尝试制作的基础食谱。阅读过程中，我感到作者们真的花了大块时间在岛上“生活”过，而不是走马观花地打卡。对于那些喜欢自驾游的读者来说，它提供的驾驶提示也非常实用，特别提到了科西嘉山路上的一些危险弯道和季节性管制，这极大地增强了我的安全感。这本书的地图设计也十分巧妙，色彩鲜明，易于理解，比我手机上的GPS在追踪那些偏远小路时还要可靠。

坦白说，我对很多旅行指南抱持着一种怀疑态度，总觉得它们为了凑字数而充斥着大量空洞的赞美之词。然而，这本《科西嘉岛指南》彻底颠覆了我的看法。它的严谨性令人印象深刻，尤其是关于地理和自然保护区的那几章。它详细解释了GR20徒步路线的难度分级、所需装备的最低标准，以及如何在夏季应对高海拔地区的天气突变。这不是那种只告诉你“这里风景很美，快来打卡”的书，它是在严肃地与你讨论如何安全、负责任地探索这个脆弱的生态系统。我尤其欣赏它在环境保护议题上的立场，强调了游客应该如何最小化对当地环境的负面影响。此外，对于那些对历史感兴趣的人，这本书提供了非常扎实的背景知识，比如科西嘉民族主义的起源和演变，这使得我在游览巴斯蒂亚或阿雅克肖时，看待那些历史建筑的眼光都变得更加深刻和有共鸣。这本书的参考文献列表也相当可观，如果你想在旅行结束后继续深入研究，它已经为你铺好了道路。