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Great Continental Railway Journeys Season 9 Episode 5
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00:01I'm embarking on a new series of railway journeys,
00:06exploring Europe's most beautiful and historic regions.
00:10Ooh, we're about to set off.
00:14From Belgium...
00:16Oh, I'm loving this.
00:21...to Hungary...
00:23This is amazing.
00:25...and the islands of Sardinia...
00:30Fantastic.
00:31...and Corsica.
00:34I'll enjoy nature, history, culture and fun
00:38in some of Europe's most enchanting places.
00:44I am looking forward to a tremendous railway adventure.
01:06Today I continue my adventure on the French island of Corsica.
01:13I'm on a railway known locally as Trinigale,
01:16or the little train which winds its way across rugged terrain
01:21on one of Europe's most dramatic routes.
01:27Well, now I am clear that it really is a great railway journey.
01:32The mountains, they're so tall, they're so sheer, they're so menacing.
01:38You might well be in the Canadian Rockies.
01:41And for Europeans, you don't have to travel as far.
01:51Lying at the heart of the Mediterranean Sea are two of the region's largest islands.
01:57I've traversed Italian Sardinia, and now I'm exploring French Corsica,
02:02an island which has been invaded and colonised countless times over the centuries,
02:07where I sense an attitude of resistance.
02:10I'm using the railway network that links the capital Ajaccio
02:13with the northern coastal cities of Bastia and Calvi
02:17to travel past peaks and gorges on the Mediterranean's spikiest island.
02:37It's a blessing to be able to make this journey as the entire Corsican train network
02:42was threatened with closure in the 1950s and 60s, and then spared.
02:47To find out about the history of this epic railway,
02:50I'm making a stop in Vivario, a small remote station
02:54at the heart of the Corsican wilderness.
03:00It's here that I meet Emanuel Bernabeu Casanova, a local historian.
03:07Emanuel, hello.
03:08Hi, Michael.
03:09This is really one of the most beautiful railway stations I've ever seen.
03:13Yes, it is.
03:14And I've so enjoyed the journey.
03:16It must have been very, very difficult to build this railway.
03:19Tell me the history.
03:20It was built really in the hand of the 19th century.
03:24Who had taken the decision to build this railway?
03:26Was that a decision taken in Paris?
03:28Yes.
03:29It was a politician decision, in fact.
03:32Because at that time, Corsicans are suspected to be for the empire.
03:39Because they are very close from Napoleon I and Napoleon III.
03:44And in the ending of the empire, the republic come.
03:49Republican people say Corsicans are not French at all.
03:53Not supporters of the republic.
03:54Yeah.
03:55And the republican government say, OK, let's do this railway.
04:00It will cost a lot, very expensive.
04:03But we have to do it to join Corsican people to the republic.
04:09Ah, so, yeah, it's very, very political.
04:12The idea is that the railway will create a bond between Corsica and France.
04:17Yes.
04:21It took 20,000 labourers more than 10 years to build these tracks that extend 230 kilometres.
04:30To overcome the hostile terrain, they cut through mountains and spanned deep gorges, creating 32 tunnels and 52 bridges and
04:40viaducts.
04:41The most impressive being the Pont du Vecchio, more widely known as the Eiffel Bridge.
04:50Hey, Manuel, this is a beautiful, very impressive railway bridge.
04:54Tell me the story of this one.
04:55This bridge is so-called the Eiffel Bridge in Corsica and everywhere in the world.
05:00But, in fact, it's not a masterpiece of Gustave Eiffel.
05:04It looks like an Eiffel Bridge, of course, but the engineer was Mr Coquelin.
05:09He was the right-hand man of Gustave Eiffel and he signed this beautiful bridge.
05:15It is a wonderful design.
05:17Was it very difficult to build?
05:19Yeah, it was, because it's 84 metres high and only four metres.
05:30This monumental viaduct was constructed by the Eiffel Company and opened in 1894, five years after the completion of the
05:38Eiffel Tower in Paris.
05:44Two 58-metre-high masonry piers support the distinctive 140-metre metal railway deck, which looms above the Vecchio River
05:53and the road bridge below.
05:58Today, during a period when no trains are due, we've been given permission to walk on the bridge.
06:04Eiffel Bridge
06:10Ha-ha!
06:12Emanuel, this is an extraordinary experience.
06:16Yes.
06:16I mean, it's wonderful to be able to see a viaduct like this, but actually to come and stand here
06:21is very special.
06:22I wanted to talk to you about the great protest of the 1960s. Tell me what happened.
06:28The railway in Corsica is very political stuff. And in the 1960s, Paris decided to stop the exploitation of the
06:37railway of Corsica because it's too expensive.
06:39The people decided to make a big strike everywhere to say, we need this railway.
06:46This was like a general strike? Everyone stopped working?
06:48Yeah. Corsica is very far away from Paris. And it's a mountain in the Mediterranean Sea. So you have two
06:55characters, the Mediterranean, the Latin, and from the mountain.
07:00Very strong people. And when they are decided something, it's very difficult to go against. And the railway is still
07:08here.
07:09What's the importance of this railway to Corsica?
07:12First of all, it's a part of the heritage of Corsican people. And secondly, we need to develop an uncarbonated
07:23way of communication.
07:25Here in Corsica, the normal way is the road. But now we have to change and stop with the cars.
07:34And then on the train where I travelled, of course, there were lots of tourists as well. So it's another
07:39attraction for people to visit the island.
07:40Yeah, it's a big attraction because of the landscape. It's something like a postal card by train. Everywhere you look,
07:48it's incredible. Yeah, it is.
08:05I confess that I felt a little squeamish crossing the viaduct. I was seeing the long drop beneath me and
08:11it was really vertiginous.
08:13My head was beginning to swim a little bit. But this is not an island where you feel comfortable being
08:22cowardly. This is an island of courage.
08:25Here so many times they have resisted the bully. They have rejected the attempt by some authority to impose their
08:36will upon the islanders.
08:38And that's something which I find really inspiring. I'm moved by this island.
09:07The railway snakes through steep and densely wooded mountainscape.
09:15I've come to the area known as Castagniccia, which translates as chestnut land, to investigate the tree which is emblematic
09:23of Corsica.
09:29Emanuele Barbieri is a chestnut grower who's been farming in Castagniccia since 2009.
09:38Emanuele, this is a chestnut forest. Yeah, exactly. One of the oldest chestnut forests in Europe.
09:47Those trees around us are between 300 and 500 years old.
09:53That's astonishing. So this is a naturally occurring forest?
09:56Not exactly. It's a mix. Some trees come naturally in this area and others have been planted by people back
10:04in the centuries.
10:05And tell me a little bit about the fruit. Let's have a look.
10:08Yeah. For example, when is this harvested?
10:11It's harvested the second half of October to the end of December.
10:16There is three fruits inside. Yes.
10:18So they fall down naturally and we pick up.
10:21What use do the people in Corsica make of the chestnut?
10:23The fruit can last 10 days, 20 days. If you want to survive all year long, you need something that
10:29you can keep it all year long.
10:31So chestnut was turned into flour and then they mix it with water and then they cook it. It's like
10:38a bread.
10:39But it's more polenta. So it's a soft bread.
10:41And people have lived on that in Corsica?
10:44People have lived on that, survived on them for centuries. And in this region, Castagnica, the land of chestnut, people
10:52do not suffer from hunger back in the century because they can rely on the chestnut.
10:59And you yourself, you've invested in chestnut forest?
11:01Yes. In 2009, I completely felt in love of this area because this is the place where we have the
11:07oldest chestnut tree in Europe.
11:09And what about the product? You harvest the chestnuts.
11:12Yeah, for sure.
11:13And nowadays, what happens to the harvest of chestnuts?
11:15I partnered up with some guys of my age. They were at that time selling the chestnut flower in Corsica.
11:22And they told me, friend, guy, we can work together, but you are not selling your flower in our market.
11:28Right.
11:29So we work together, but you have to export.
11:31I try to export it in a place I know.
11:34And I was discussing with some friends in Dublin, and they told me, I've become a farmer, I'm a gluten
11:40-free flower producer.
11:42Gluten-free.
11:43Ah.
11:44It's absolutely gluten-free.
11:45So we decided to sell an agreement, and they buy all the chestnuts I produce in this area.
11:51But there is also another funny thing. I know you love trains.
11:55We had, at the beginning, I had no trucks to transfer my flower from this spot to the main city
12:01of Bastille.
12:02And there is a train, not that far.
12:05So, when you have no money, you have no care what you do.
12:08You take a bus or you take a train.
12:10And so I use the train to carry my flower from the mountain, close the mountain area to the sea.
12:16Bravo. Very, very green.
12:29There are around 3,000 hectares of chestnut orchards across Corsica, which offer a distinctive habitat.
12:38Aurélie Avignon is one of the island's many beekeepers.
12:42Bonjour.
12:43Bonjour.
12:44Je suis Michael.
12:45Bonjour, Aurélie.
12:46Enchantée.
12:48So, we're going to go and look at some bees.
12:51And I see that you are prepared with your smoke.
12:55La fumée.
12:55Oui.
12:56C'est pour enfumer un petit peu les abeilles, pour les tranquilliser, pour pouvoir ouvrir la ruche.
13:01Aurélie, are these bees special?
13:04Oui.
13:05Ce sont des abeilles noires.
13:07Oh, black bees.
13:08Yes.
13:09What are the characteristics of black bees?
13:11Elles sont agressives.
13:13C'est pour ça que nous devons mettre une tenue avec des gants.
13:16Right.
13:17So, I've often visited bees before, but I haven't normally been told that they were aggressive.
13:22So, this is a bit of an adventure.
13:25Thank you very much.
13:34It's good.
13:35No bee-sized holes?
13:37No.
13:40With hives set beneath the chestnut trees, the bees produce a delicious chestnut honey.
13:46But we've come in search of another useful product created by the bees.
13:53This is my first sight of these black horsican bees.
13:59Tout ça, c'est de la propolis.
14:00All of that is propolis.
14:03Propolis is a resin made by the bees to seal the hive and protect it from other insects.
14:09And it's thought to have anti-bacterial and other beneficial properties.
14:13These hives have specially made grilles designed to collect this useful natural product.
14:22They're beautiful.
14:23Very beautiful black bees.
14:26Wow.
14:26Huge numbers of bees.
14:28Which are now becoming slightly more agitated, I must say.
14:33I've got them buzzing around my face now.
14:35I'm having to trust to my protective clothing.
14:39The queen, maybe.
14:40We're looking for the queen.
14:42Yes.
14:45Have you found the queen?
14:47Yes.
14:48With the white point on her head.
14:50She's got a white spot on her head.
14:55The grilles on which the propolis collects are inserted into the hive at the beginning of the season and retrieved
15:01at the end.
15:02Very good.
15:04Let's go.
15:05Let's go.
15:08Aurelie uses it to make a range of artisanal products.
15:35Aurelie uses it to make a range of artisanal products.
15:38The water's getting quite hot now.
15:40Yes.
15:41I've prepared a maceration with olive oil, propolis, pollen.
15:49It's been cleaned for about a month.
15:53It's the base of our baume, in fact.
15:55Added to this base is sheer butter, coconut oil, and beeswax, which is then melted in a water bath.
16:02Mm-hmm.
16:04Now the propolis is going into the wax.
16:08Mm-hmm.
16:10Oh.
16:11Oh, that's thickened up very, very quickly.
16:14In goes the honey, vitamin E, which acts as a preservative.
16:21Yes, it's good.
16:22Perfect.
16:24The hot mixture is then poured into moulds to cool and solidify as balm.
16:31Why have you turned to the production of propolis?
16:33Yes.
16:35The milk production in Corsi has been reduced for a few years, about 50%.
16:42We also try to work with other products that are also very interesting in the ruse,
16:47such as the pollen, the propolis, the cire.
16:50There are also many other treasures in the ruse.
16:53Why?
16:54Why has it gone down?
16:56The main reasons are the climate problems.
16:59There is a lack of rain, the humidity level which is not good.
17:04So we have problems at this level to make honey.
17:09The bees have been cut off, but not enough to make the honey that we did 20 years ago.
17:19Out of adversity comes innovation.
17:22And as Aurelie has focused on the other treasures in the hive, she has created a new product.
17:29Well, that has the most gorgeous fragrance to it.
17:32Yes.
17:33What a lovely natural product.
17:36Clever bees.
17:47To continue my journey north, I pick up the train from the station at Venarko.
17:57The next destination will be Corte, a town in the heart of the Corsican interior, visited by a fellow traveller
18:06over 250 years ago.
18:13The Scottish author James Boswell is best known for writing the biography of Samuel Johnson.
18:19But long before he did that, when he was quite young, like so many aristocrats, he did the grand tour
18:25of Europe.
18:26But unlike most, he included Corsica in his itinerary and wrote about his travels.
18:33While here, he met the intellectual, the statesman, the revolutionary, Pasquale Paoli, who impressed him very much.
18:41Now, Boswell arrived in Corsica directly from studying ancient Rome, and he commented,
18:48I have come from seeing the ruin of one brave and free people.
18:54I now see the rise of another.
19:17Corte is a mountain town with a big history.
19:21Perched on a rocky outcrop, the medieval castle overlooks the town with its labyrinth of winding, cobbled streets.
19:35It's home to the island's university and is often considered to be the intellectual, cultural and spiritual heart of Corsica.
19:52To find out about Corte's place in the island's history, I've been joined by a local guide, Isabel Agostini.
20:06Isabel, what an extraordinary place Corte is.
20:09Here we are, hard against the mountain with these tremendous views and these great fortifications.
20:15Exactly.
20:16Corte was fortified at the beginning of the 15th century, and it became later the capital of the independent Corsica.
20:26And it's about independence that I wanted to talk to you.
20:29So, I mean, first of all, who are the people who have invaded Corsica over the centuries?
20:34Wow, so many.
20:35The Greeks in the 6th century BC, followed by the Etruscans and Carthaginians, then Romans, Vandals, Byzantines,
20:44Lombards, and then many Moorish raids before the Pope gave Corsica to the Republic of Pisa for 200 years.
20:53And then Genoa took over for 500 years.
20:56It's a total history of invasions and occupations, so it has strengthened the character of the locals.
21:02They have a culture of resisting and defending their island.
21:07There's a statue down there that represents Jean-Pierre Gaffori, who was one of the leaders of the rebellion against
21:16Genoa between 1751 and 1753.
21:20But Genoa attacked, and Faustine, who was Jean-Pierre Gaffori's wife, retreated in their house.
21:28They resisted while Jean-Pierre Gaffori was looking for help and reinforce.
21:34Genoa was so strong that Corsican patriots were ready to surrender, and Faustine decided to take a torch next to
21:42a powder barrel and blow the house with everybody if they did not resist until her husband returned.
21:50They found courage, and the town was liberated. She's a symbol, but there are so many other women who are
21:59great characters during the liberation of Corsica against the Genoese.
22:07Isabelle, you're making me nervous. You Corsican women are really something.
22:11We are so devoted to our island that we react very quickly and strongly anytime we feel it under threat.
22:19The name that one hears everywhere in Corsica is Pasquale Paoli.
22:24Pasquale Paoli was actually the son of one of the first patriots who fought against the tyranny of Genoa on
22:33the island.
22:34His father's name was Jacinto Paoli. Unfortunately, he had to exile to Italy.
22:41He brought his son with him. That's how he got to study in a very good university in Italy, Naples.
22:48So here's a man who's well trained, well prepared. He's an intellectual.
22:53He came back here in 1755. He was elected father of the nation, and he wrote the first modern democratic
23:04constitution of Europe with the separation of the powers and the people being sovereign.
23:10It was voted by all the people who took part of the fight against Genoa, and widows as well were
23:17allowed to vote.
23:18Women? Women, yes, because they became chef of the family after their husband's death.
23:27Pasquale Paoli's independent Corsican Republic lasted for 14 years until the French invaded in 1769.
23:35He then spent 20 years in exile in London. He returned to Corsica during the French Revolutionary Period, but locked
23:43horns with Napoleon Bonaparte over Corsican independence from France.
23:49Napoleon's brother Lucien is the one who had Pascal Paoli accused of being anti-revolutionnaire. That's why the guillotine was
23:57waiting for him.
23:58And that's how he called England for help. And they said Nelson and his fleet end up by having an
24:06Anglo-Corsican kingdom for two years, 1794, 1796, and a new constitution.
24:11I mean, this is just astonishing. Are you telling me that King George III was king of Corsica?
24:19Yes. The capital at that time was Bastia, and it's in a tiny brotherhood chapel that the Anglo-Corsican parliament
24:29used to stay.
24:31There was a little organ where they used to play, God save the king.
24:35And there was a throne in the chapel symbolizing the presence of George III.
24:47The Anglo-Corsican kingdom, known officially as the Kingdom of Corsica, lasted for two years until 1796 when the French
24:56retook the island.
24:57With so many invaders and occupiers over the centuries, old Corsican customs and traditions are strongly and proudly held.
25:06And that extends, of course, to food and a treat known as Falculela.
25:12Hello, ma'am.
25:14Michael, this is a local speciality. It's made with Corsican fresh cheese named brochu, sugar, eggs and lemon zest.
25:24And it's presented on a chestnut leaf.
25:28That's right. It's presented on a chestnut leaf.
25:30But the chestnut leaf doesn't eat.
25:32You mustn't eat chestnut leaf.
25:33That's right.
25:35Au revoir, madame. Merci.
25:36Merci beaucoup, Charles.
25:38Merci.
25:42It's not hard in Corte to find a spot with a view where I can enjoy my Falculela.
25:48Ah, this is a lovely spot. There are views everywhere in Corte.
25:53Yes, everywhere.
25:56Mm-hmm.
26:00Mmm, it is good.
26:02Mmm.
26:02Like a little flat cheesecake, isn't it?
26:04Yes.
26:05Mmm, that's really nice.
26:07So, has the question of Corsican independence gone away?
26:13Is it simply part of history or does it linger?
26:16Nowadays, it's a minority who wants independence, but the majority wants an autonomy from France.
26:26More autonomy than they have today?
26:28Yes.
26:29May I ask you, are you Corsican?
26:33I am Corsican from my father and from my mother.
26:36Are you European?
26:38I am European.
26:39Are you French?
26:41I'm French after being Corsican.
26:46Galois?
26:47No.
26:47No.
26:48No.
26:48No.
27:03No.
27:04No.
27:04No.
27:05No.
27:15NOISSE
27:16The words island and isolated are linked.
27:20And although these massive mountains rising from the sea have often been colonised,
27:26nonetheless they have developed distinctively from the Mediterranean mainland.
27:32There have been civilisations, cultures, customs, language and song that are particular to here.
27:40And over the centuries, the people here have become as tough as the craggy granite of their islands
27:49and fiercely defensive of their freedom of thought and action.
28:00Next time, we will thunder under the Channel Tunnel and arrive in Brussels,
28:05the city of waffles, chips and chocolate.
28:10This is superb.
28:11It was such a sweeping movement, Arnava, wasn't it?
28:14Yeah, it's one of the first international movements.
28:18Is Brussels a good place to have NATO?
28:20It's become one of the world's centres of government.
28:23The space was crammed with people and we're expecting something.
28:27There was heat in the air.
28:39The events of Russia,
28:40The bible of Russia.
28:55There was an parishionnaire of heritage from Russia,
28:56which meantاخ ви people or private ideas,
28:56which meant the sense of the climate and uh fiat over the continent.
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