Fleeing the Ottoman tyranny, 800 Greeks decided to emigrate.
1663 : Negotiations carried on by Mgr Partenios Calcandis, Bishop of Vitylo, with the government of Genoa, lasted for 12 years. The Genoese government finally ceded to the Greeks the territorv of PAOMIA. situated approximately 50 kilometres north of Ajaccio. This grant of land was made in exchange for a small fee and on the condition th
at the Greeks recognise the Supremacy of the Pope.
1665 : On 25th June. the negotiations having made satidfactory progress. Mgr calcandis who was to accompany the Greeks to Corsica together with 6 monks and priests, thanked the government of Genoa.
1675 : The Stefanopoli commission having returned satisfied from their visit to the territory of Paomia, a contract was signed on 25th September 1675 with Captain Daniel, in command of the ship " Saviour ", which was to carry 800 emigrants in 10 days either to Livorno of to Genoa, for 5 reals per person (value of the real . 25 centimes) Payable on arrival. The emigrants embarked on the night of 3rd October 1675 but the "Saviour" only arrived off Genoa on 1st January 1676. Of the 800 emigrants, 120 had died during the passage
1676 : On 13th February, Mgr Parthenius was interrogated by the Genoese authorities seeking to find out the reasons for their exile. Before leaving for Coisica, these same authorities italianised the surnames, replacing the final "AKIS" by "ACCI" ; for example : PAPADAKIS became PAPADACCI. On 14th March, three Genoese galleys anchored off the coast neor Paomia. It may well have been in the little bay " dei Monachi " (of the monks), today named Bay Forni. The name of PAOMIA comes from the ltalion " pavone " [Peacock]. PAOMIA was made up of five hamlets : Pancone, Corone, Rondolino, Salici and Monte-Rosso, all of which were built by the Greeks in the first year.
1678 : Er****on at Rondolino of the main church dedicated to Our Lady of the Assumption [saint's day : 15th August]. By hard labour, the Greeks transformed the surrounding countryside making it the best cultivated and the most productive of the area. For about fifty years they lived peacefully with their Corsican neighbours.
1729 : General rebellion of the Corsicans against the Genoese.The Greeks refused to fight their benefactors. Considered supporters of the Genoese, their properties in Paomio were ransacked and pillaged
In the following year, the Corsicans fought the inhabitants who defended themselves courageously. However the Genoese, who were unable to assist them. suggested they make for Ajaccio leaving behind 50 villagers to defend their settlement. This body of men was later obliged to retreat to the Ominia peninsula where they took refuge in the Genoese tower. Depiived of food, they managed to escape by night and mrade their way to Ajaccio, arriving at the end of April 1731.
1731/74 : For 43 years the Greeks lived in Ajaccio.
1768 : 1st June : The Genoese troops lowered their flags, immediately to be replaced, on the citadel of Ajaccio, by the flag of the King of France. The Greeks then formed a regiment which Count Marbeuf incorporated into his troops.
1774 : Through the mediation of Count Marbeuf, the Greeks obtained the territory of Cargèse, compensating for the loss of Paomia. At the request of the Count, Georges Stefanopoli (nicknamed Captain Giorgio) partially succeeded in having this proposal accepted. Count Marbeuf oversaw the construction, by military engineers, of 120 houses, all of the same yype, 250 metres from the sea. He also had a mansion built but this was later burnt down and completely destroyed. Later, the Count was named Marquis of Cargèse
1793 : The Revolution stuck the island. The Cabteau Marbeuf was razed to the ground by the Jacobins of Vico, but the village was not severely damaged. The men, who had taken refuge in the two towers at either end of the Bay of Pero, were authorised to go to Aiaccio with their families. Once more the Greeks resided in Ajaccio, this time for 4 years. On orders from the Directory, General Casabianca brought them back to Cargèse ; two thirds elected to return (approximately 800), the others preferring to remain in Ajaccio or to leave for the continent.
1804 : At this time. Cargèse had 1000 inhabi tants of which about 300 were Corsican. This integration enables the village to foresee a peaceful future.
1808 : Cargèse became a base for the reserve army. Barracks for 400-500 soldiers
were built.
1814 : Renewed threats from the villagers of Vico who, under Charles X were obliged to hand back property they had seized.
1830 : Numerous alliances made between Greeks end Corsicans forced the people of Vico to abandon new attacks. Sardinia
Sardinia (p**n.: /sɑrˈdɪniə/, Italian: Sardegna [sarˈdeɲɲa], Sardinian: Sardigna [sarˈdinja]) is the second largest island in the Mediterranean Sea (after Sicily and before Cyprus) and an autonomous region of Italy. The nearest land masses are (clockwise from north) the island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Balearic Islands. Etymology
The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[], romanised as sardus (feminine sarda); that the name had a religious connotation is suggested from its use also as the adjective for the ancient Sardinian mythological hero-god Sardus Pater "Sardinian Father" (misunderstood by many modern Sardinians/Italians as being "Father Sardus"), as well as being the stem of the adjective "sardonic". Sardinia was called Ichnusa (the Latinised form of the Greek Hyknousa, Υκνούσσα), Sandalion (Σανδάλιον in Greek, meaning sandal), Sardinia and Sardo by the ancient Greeks and the Romans. Magna Græcia (Latin meaning "Great Greece", Greek: Μεγάλη Ἑλλάς, Megálē Hellás) is the name of the coastal areas of Southern Italy on the Tarentine Gulf that were extensively colonized by Greek settlers; particularly the Achaean colonies of Tarentum, Croton, and Sybaris, but also, more loosely, the cities of Cumae and Neapolis to the north. The colonists, who began arriving in the 8th century BC, brought with them their Hellenic civilization, which was to leave a lasting imprint in Italy, particularly on the culture of ancient Rome.
