France Guide
Corsica
Maison Bonaparte
Opening time: (May– Sept Mon 2–6pm, Tues– Fri 9am– noon & 2–6pm, Sat 9–11.45am & 2–6pm, Sun 9am– noon; Oct– April Mon 2–6pm, Tues– Sat 10am– noon & 2–5pm, Sun 10am– noon
Price: €4
Napoleon was born in what's now the colossal Maison Bonaparte, on place Letizia , off the west side of rue Napoléon. The house passed to Napoleon's father in the 1760s and here he lived, with his wife and family, until his death. But in May 1793, the Bonapartes were driven from the house by Paoli's partisans, who stripped the place down to the floorboards. Requisitioned by the English in 1794, Maison Bonaparte became an arsenal and a lodging house for English officers until Napoleon's mother Letizia herself funded its restoration. Owned by the state since 1923, the house now bears few traces of the Bonaparte family's existence. One of the few original pieces of furniture left in the house is the wooden sedan chair in the hallway – the pregnant Letizia was carried back from church in it when her contractions started. The up floors house an endless display of portraits, miniatures, weapons, letters and documents.