Le Musée Départemental Pascal Paoli (The Departmental Museum Pascal Paoli)
After landing in Bastia with Air Corsica, you will discover, not far from there in Morosaglia, the Departmental Museum Pascal Paoli which earned the title “ Maison des Illustres (House of the Illustrious) ” in 2012. Within the birth house of the one considered the Father of the country and General of the Corsican Nation, the museum brings together numerous objects and memories of his life.
Objects of note include a bust by the English sculptor Flaxman, a portrait of the American painter Benbridge and a pair of pistols signed J. Twigg.
Finally, the funeral chapel situated on the estate preserves the ashes of this famous personality as well as the tomb stone which adorned his vault at the Saint Pancras cemetery in London.
Comprised of four different rooms, the Departmental Museum Pascal Paoli displays numerous treasures :
- At the entrance, there is a photograph showing the return of his ashes from Westminster.
- In another room, there is a sixteenth-century storage chest, portraits of Pascal Paoli, the family's coat of arms, a liqueur cellar, a dinner service, a plaster cast of the Paoli statue by Raymond Servian and a saddle given by the Bey of Tunis.
- In the main room, you can discover sacred jewellery, an amnesty granted to the Corsicans by the Doge of Genoa, the announcement of Pascal Paoli's election to the Generalate, his portrait by Richard Cosway, the power attributes of the Corsican Nation (seal of the government, crucifix, Columbu, flag of independence, etc.) as well as two of Pascal Paoli's letters, a document of the Convention declaring it outlaw and English charts of Corsica.
- Other rooms include the portrait of Paoli by Henry Benbridge, an orezzinca bench, two engraved portraits, the exposed jacket, scarf and sword of the General next to a crucifix and a view of Naples during the eighteenth century. There is also a portrait signed by Novellini, a specimen of the “ Giustificazione della revoluzione (Justification for the Revolution) ”, Corsican currency, a plan of the Ile-Rousse dating from the eighteenth century and various documents concerning Pascal Paoli's parents.
What better way to discover and understand the history of Corsica through one of its most emblematic figures.
