EXPLORE CORSICA’S CHARCUTERIE CIRCUIT

In the Middle Ages, chestnut trees were planted across the mountainous Corsican region of Castagniccia so the island could be self-sufficient if besieged. The result is a beguiling, forest-rich landscape and a rustic cuisine closely tied to the ubiquitous chestnut. This includes a wide array of charcuterie made from the chestnut-fed, free-range pigs that graze in these parts — and it can all be sampled at shop tastings or restaurants in the surrounding villages. Highlights include prisuttu (18-month-matured ham), lonzu (smoked tenderloin), coppa (air-dried pork shoulder), terrine de sanglier (wild boar pâté) and figatellu (pork liver sausage infused with red wine and herbs then smoked over a chestnut-wood fire).

GETTING STARTED: Begin the feasting in Vescovato, before tackling the winding roads up to Penta-di-casinca, Loreto-di-casinca and Silvareccio.

DON’T MISS: The succulent produce at the family-run charcuterie Albertini Francois in Loreto-dicasinca is unmissable.