Corsica Corsica Corsica (; ; "Corsica" in Corsican and Italian, pronounced and respectively) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is located southeast of the French mainland and west of the Italian Peninsula, with the nearest land mass being the Italian island of Sardinia to the immediate south. A single chain of mountains makes up two-thirds of the island. While being part of Metropolitan France, Corsica is also designated as a territorial collectivity ("collectivité territoriale") by law. As a territorial collectivity, Corsica enjoys a greater degree of autonomy than other French regions;
Corsica was divided in "pagi", which in the Middle Ages became the "pievi", the basic administrative units of the island until 1768. During the diffusion of Christianity, which arrived quite early from Rome and the Tuscan harbors, Corsica was home to many martyrs and saints: among them, the most important are Saint Devota and Saint Julia, both patrons of the island. Corsica was integrated into Roman Italy by Emperor Diocletian (r. 284-305). In the 5th century, the western half of the Roman Empire collapsed, and the island was invaded by the Vandals and the Ostrogoths. Briefly recovered by the Byzantines, it