# L'Île-Rousse

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You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in French. (December 2008) Click [show] for important translation instructions. View a machine-translated version of the French article. Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must follow the LLM translation guideline, revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing French Wikipedia article at [[:fr:L'Île-Rousse]]; see its history for attribution. You may also add the template {{Translated|fr|L'Île-Rousse}} to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

Commune in Corsica, France

L'Île-Rousse Lìsula Commune Port Coat of arms Location of L'Île-Rousse L'Île-Rousse Show map of France L'Île-Rousse Show map of Corsica Coordinates: 42°38′08″N 8°56′17″E / 42.6356°N 8.9381°E / 42.6356; 8.9381 Country France Region Corsica Department Haute-Corse Arrondissement Calvi Canton L'Île-Rousse Intercommunality CC de l'Île-Rousse - Balagne Government • Mayor (2020–2026) Angèle Bastiani[1] Area 1 2.5 km2 (0.97 sq mi) Population (2023)[2] 3,231 • Density 1,300/km2 (3,300/sq mi) Time zone UTC+01:00 (CET) • Summer (DST) UTC+02:00 (CEST) INSEE/Postal code 2B134 /20220 Elevation 0–151 m (0–495 ft) (avg. 15 m or 49 ft) 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

[Torra di a Petra](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Torra_di_a_Petra&action=edit&redlink=1)

View from the tower

Bust of [Pasquale Paoli](/source/Pasquale_Paoli)

**L'Île-Rousse** (French pronunciation: [\[lil ʁus\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/French); [Corsican](/source/Corsican_language): *Lìsula*, [\[ˈlizula\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/Corsican), or *Isula Rossa*, [\[ˈizula ˈrɔssa\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/Corsican); [Italian](/source/Italian_language): *Isola Rossa*, [\[ˈiːzola ˈrossa\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/Italian); lit. 'Red Island') is a [commune](/source/Communes_of_France) in the [Haute-Corse](/source/Haute-Corse) [department](/source/Departments_of_France) of [France](/source/France) on the island of [Corsica](/source/Corsica).

It was founded in 1758 by [Pasquale Paoli](/source/Pasquale_Paoli) to create a port that would not be in the hands of the [Genoese](/source/Republic_of_Genoa) (such as [Calvi](/source/Calvi%2C_Haute-Corse)). As [Italian](/source/Italian_language) was until 1848 the administrative language of Corsica, the town was originally named *Isola Rossa* (Red Island) from the eponymous reddish color of a rocky islet that served as a natural harbor.

Along with [Saint-Florent](/source/Saint-Florent%2C_Haute-Corse) and [Tox](/source/Tox%2C_Haute-Corse), it is one of only three communes in the [département](/source/D%C3%A9partement) to have a French name — all the others have kept their Italian names despite the repeated demands of Corsican nationalists to change the names of all communes to their native Corsican names.

## History

Inhabited since very ancient times (between 5000-3000 BC), l'Île-Rousse was in 1000 BC a small, prosperous town called Agilla; it was dependent on [Tyre](/source/Tyre%2C_Lebanon) in [Phoenicia](/source/Phoenicia). Destroyed by the Phoenician fleet of Calaris ([Galeria](/source/Gal%C3%A9ria)), Agilla came under Roman rule as Rubico Rocega (red rock) until the 4th century AD. Being so close to the sea, it was threatened by pirates and other potential enemies, and was not inhabited for several centuries except for fishermen and peasants who lived on the products of the sea and earth around the villages of [Santa Reparata](/source/Santa_Reparata) and [Monticello](/source/Monticello).

In the 17th century, merchants from [Santa-Reparata-di-Balagna](/source/Santa-Reparata-di-Balagna) established shops to trade by sea with the coastal villages of the [Balagne](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Balagne&action=edit&redlink=1), [Nebbio](/source/Nebbio), and the west of the [Cap Corse](/source/Cap_Corse). About 1759, [Pasquale Paoli](/source/Pasquale_Paoli), who often came to Balagne, decided to equip Corsica with a port in the northwest of the island to try to cut the sea traffic between [Genoa](/source/Genoa) and [Calvi](/source/Calvi%2C_Haute-Corse). His plans prepared, he persuaded the Balagne government, sitting in [Algajola](/source/Algajola), to authorize him to create a fort protecting the port (the Scalu) on 10 December 1765. L’Île-Rousse was born from this decision.

## Climate

L'Île-Rousse has a cold semi-arid climate ([Köppen climate classification](/source/K%C3%B6ppen_climate_classification) *BSk*) closely bordering on a [hot-summer mediterranean climate](/source/Hot-summer_mediterranean_climate) ([Köppen climate classification](/source/K%C3%B6ppen_climate_classification) *Csa*). The average annual temperature in L'Île-Rousse is 16.9 °C (62.4 °F). The average annual rainfall is 473.8 mm (18.65 in) with November as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 24.9 °C (76.8 °F), and lowest in February, at around 10.4 °C (50.7 °F). The highest temperature ever recorded in L'Île-Rousse was 39.6 °C (103.3 °F) on 5 July 1993; the coldest temperature ever recorded was −1.3 °C (29.7 °F) on 28 December 1996.

Climate data for L'Île-Rousse (1991–2020 averages, extremes 1988–present) Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Record high °C (°F) 20.8 (69.4) 22.2 (72.0) 27.9 (82.2) 29.3 (84.7) 32.2 (90.0) 36.7 (98.1) 39.6 (103.3) 36.9 (98.4) 35.2 (95.4) 31.3 (88.3) 25.9 (78.6) 25.2 (77.4) 39.6 (103.3) Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 12.8 (55.0) 12.9 (55.2) 14.9 (58.8) 17.4 (63.3) 21.2 (70.2) 25.0 (77.0) 27.6 (81.7) 27.9 (82.2) 24.6 (76.3) 21.1 (70.0) 16.9 (62.4) 13.9 (57.0) 19.7 (67.5) Daily mean °C (°F) 10.6 (51.1) 10.4 (50.7) 12.2 (54.0) 14.5 (58.1) 18.1 (64.6) 21.8 (71.2) 24.5 (76.1) 24.9 (76.8) 21.7 (71.1) 18.5 (65.3) 14.5 (58.1) 11.7 (53.1) 16.9 (62.4) Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 8.4 (47.1) 7.9 (46.2) 9.5 (49.1) 11.5 (52.7) 15.0 (59.0) 18.6 (65.5) 21.4 (70.5) 21.9 (71.4) 18.8 (65.8) 15.9 (60.6) 12.2 (54.0) 9.5 (49.1) 14.2 (57.6) Record low °C (°F) −1.0 (30.2) −0.9 (30.4) −1.1 (30.0) 2.5 (36.5) 5.6 (42.1) 9.1 (48.4) 13.0 (55.4) 14.8 (58.6) 10.8 (51.4) 4.7 (40.5) 1.1 (34.0) −1.3 (29.7) −1.3 (29.7) Average precipitation mm (inches) 34.0 (1.34) 32.7 (1.29) 42.9 (1.69) 39.9 (1.57) 30.2 (1.19) 29.8 (1.17) 7.1 (0.28) 13.5 (0.53) 43.7 (1.72) 60.6 (2.39) 85.5 (3.37) 53.9 (2.12) 473.8 (18.65) Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 5.6 5.5 5.8 5.9 4.3 2.9 0.8 1.4 4.7 6.5 8.5 6.3 58.2 Source: Meteo France[3]

## Description

Built on a bay bounded to the northwest by the rocky islets of red [porphyry](/source/Porphyry_(geology)) which give it its name, and to the south by an immaculate white sand beach, l’Île-Rousse is presented to the tourist in all its beauty, extending westwards from the sea to the hill of the Sémaphore and the col de Fogata.

The old town of Pascal Paoli, le Père de la Patrie (the Father of the Fatherland), is made up of paved streets, almost rectilinear and oriented north-south. From the quays of the commercial port installed on 3 of the 6 small islands, the fishing port and the bridges which link the harbor complex to the coast and the market with its twenty one columns, the fortifications and the houses of the old city grew over the years, from 1765 into the first half of the 19th century.

Certain houses with their interior [Florentine](/source/Florence) staircases are remarkable. The first church built in 1740 and destroyed in 1936 gave its name to the rue Notre-Dame. The church dedicated to Notre Dame de Miséricorde is next to an old [Franciscan](/source/Franciscan) convent, while the parish church of l’Île-Rousse, the [Immaculée Conception de Marie](/source/Immaculate_Conception), is on the west of the main square, with its enormous [date palms](/source/Date_Palm) (planted 1890) in the shade of which it is good to play a game of *[pétanque](/source/P%C3%A9tanque)*.

The new town blends harmoniously with the old at the place Paoli, shaded by hundred year old [plane trees](/source/Platanus), where it is good to take the summer air. The old town offers visitors the chance to stroll on the old paving stones, partly restored, along streets with historic names: [Pasquale Paoli](/source/Pasquale_Paoli), [Napoleon](/source/Napoleon), *les frères* Arena (Arena brothers), [Louis Philippe](/source/Louis_Philippe_I), Agilla..

Built by Pascal Paoli, equipped by its municipal officials, after 1815 with a [blazon](/source/Blazon) decorated with the royal [fleur-de-lis](/source/Fleur-de-lis) of France and run for than a half-century by elected [Bonapartist](/source/Bonapartist) officials, l’Île-Rousse is a town with a share in the history of Corsica. Its contradictions make it an attractive and unexpected place for the tourists who come each year to sit down under the plane trees of its beautiful central square.

## Population

‹ The [template](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Template) *[Historical populations](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Historical_populations)* is being [considered for merging](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Templates_for_discussion/Log/2026_June_24#Template:Infobox_demographics). ›

Historical population Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1968 2,036 — 1975 2,360 +2.13% 1982 2,632 +1.57% 1990 2,288 −1.74% 1999 2,774 +2.16% 2007 2,765 −0.04% 2012 3,740 +6.23% 2017 3,043 −4.04% 2023 3,231 +1.00% Source: INSEE[4]

## Notable people

- [Pasquale Paoli](/source/Pasquale_Paoli)

- [Battista Acquaviva](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Battista_Acquaviva&action=edit&redlink=1) [[fr](https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battista_Acquaviva); [it](https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battista_Acquaviva)]

- [Aleksa Ivanc Olivieri](/source/Aleksa_Ivanc_Olivieri) (1916–2010), Slovenian painter, graphic designer and art restorer, who lived and worked in France

Panoramic view from Pietra lighthouse

## See also

- [Communes of the Haute-Corse department](/source/Communes_of_the_Haute-Corse_department)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Répertoire national des élus: les maires"](https://www.data.gouv.fr/fr/datasets/r/2876a346-d50c-4911-934e-19ee07b0e503). *data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises* (in French). 2 December 2020.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Populations de référence 2023"](https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/8643952?geo=COM-2B134) (in French). National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 18 December 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-MFclimat1_3-0)** ["Ile Rousse (20)"](https://donneespubliques.meteofrance.fr/FichesClim/FICHECLIM_20093002.pdf) (PDF). *Fiche Climatologique: Statistiques 1991–2020 et records* (in French). Meteo France. Retrieved 8 September 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-pophist_4-0)** [Population municipale entre 1968 et 2023](https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/8643952?geo=COM-2B134#tableau-POPREF_G1), INSEE

## External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [L'Île-Rousse](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:L%27%C3%8Ele-Rousse).

- [Official page](http://mairie-ilerousse.com/)

v t e Communes of the Haute-Corse department Aghione Aiti Alando Albertacce Aléria Algajola Altiani Alzi Ampriani Antisanti Aregno Asco Avapessa Barbaggio Barrettali Bastiapref Belgodère Bigorno Biguglia Bisinchi Borgo Brando Bustanico Cagnano Calacuccia Calenzana Calvisubpr Cambia Campana Campi Campile Campitello Canale-di-Verde Canari Canavaggia Carcheto-Brustico Carpineto Carticasi Casabianca Casalta Casamaccioli Casanova Casevecchie Castellare-di-Casinca Castellare-di-Mercurio Castello-di-Rostino Castifao Castiglione Castineta Castirla Cateri Centuri Cervione Chiatra Chisa Corbara Corscia Cortesubpr Costa Croce Crocicchia Erbajolo Érone Ersa Farinole Favalello Felce Feliceto Ficaja Focicchia Furiani Galéria Gavignano Ghisonaccia Ghisoni Giocatojo Giuncaggio L'Île-Rousse Isolaccio-di-Fiumorbo Lama Lano Lavatoggio Lento Linguizzetta Loreto-di-Casinca Lozzi Lucciana Lugo-di-Nazza Lumio Luri Manso Matra Mausoléo Mazzola Meria Moïta Moltifao Monacia-d'Orezza Moncale Monte Montegrosso Monticello Morosaglia Morsiglia Muracciole Murato Muro Nessa Nocario Noceta Nonza Novale Novella Occhiatana Ogliastro Olcani Oletta Olmeta-di-Capocorso Olmeta-di-Tuda Olmi-Cappella Olmo Omessa Ortale Ortiporio Palasca Pancheraccia Parata Patrimonio Penta-Acquatella Penta-di-Casinca Perelli Pero-Casevecchie Pianello Piano Piazzali Piazzole Piedicorte-di-Gaggio Piedicroce Piedigriggio Piedipartino Pie-d'Orezza Pietracorbara Pietra-di-Verde Pietralba Pietraserena Pietricaggio Pietroso Piève Pigna Pino Piobetta Pioggiola Poggio-di-Nazza Poggio-di-Venaco Poggio-d'Oletta Poggio-Marinaccio Poggio-Mezzana Polveroso Popolasca Porri La Porta Prato-di-Giovellina Prunelli-di-Casacconi Prunelli-di-Fiumorbo Pruno Quercitello Rapaggio Rapale Riventosa Rogliano Rospigliani Rusio Rutali Saint-Florent Saliceto San-Damiano San-Gavino-d'Ampugnani San-Gavino-di-Fiumorbo San-Gavino-di-Tenda San-Giovanni-di-Moriani San-Giuliano San-Lorenzo San-Martino-di-Lota San-Nicolao Santa-Lucia-di-Mercurio Santa-Lucia-di-Moriani Santa-Maria-di-Lota Santa-Maria-Poggio Sant'Andréa-di-Bozio Sant'Andréa-di-Cotone Sant'Antonino Santa-Reparata-di-Balagna Santa-Reparata-di-Moriani Santo-Pietro-di-Tenda Santo-Pietro-di-Venaco Scata Scolca Sermano Serra-di-Fiumorbo Silvareccio Sisco Solaro Sorbo-Ocagnano Sorio Soveria Speloncato Stazzona Taglio-Isolaccio Talasani Tallone Tarrano Tomino Tox Tralonca Urtaca Vallecalle Valle-d'Alesani Valle-di-Campoloro Valle-di-Rostino Valle-d'Orezza Vallica Velone-Orneto Venaco Ventiseri Venzolasca Verdèse Vescovato Vezzani Vignale Ville-di-Paraso Ville-di-Pietrabugno Vivario Volpajola Zalana Zilia Zuani pref: prefecture subpr: subprefecture

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [L'Île-Rousse](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L'%C3%8Ele-Rousse) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L'%C3%8Ele-Rousse?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.