Sampiero, the Mercenary: Born in Bastelica by the end of the XVth century within the context of the Italian wars, Sampiero Corso was a young soldier who left for Florence to serve the powerful Medici family to which he remained loyal till the end. Named Colonel of the Corsican troops by Francis I of France and later backed by Catherine de’ Medici, he fought for the French kings against the Emperor Charles V. Determined to kick the Genoese out of Corsica, he attempted to unite the Corsican people in vain. An epic life that deserves to be told…

Paoli, the Enlightened: ‘Pasquale di Paoli was the Che Guevara of the 18th century – probably the greatest fighter for freedom of that century, an inspiration to democrats everywhere, a soldier who succeeded in liberating Corsica from the oppressive rule of the Genoese’ wrote the BBC. Praised by the most famous philosophers, admired throughout Europe, the Father of the Corsican nation was an eminent man whose bust statue still stands in the south choir aisle of Westminster Abbey…

Napoleon, the Emperor: Born in Ajaccio in 1769 in a newly French Corsica, he was sent by his father to a French military school at 9 years old. As he graduated at 16, he felt he was first and foremost Corsican and stood on Paoli’s side. “I was born when [Corsica] was perishing. Thirty thousand Frenchmen spewed onto our shores, drowning the throne of liberty in waves of blood…”. The French Revolution changed everything, he was a Frenchman now. Named as 1st consul then consul for life, he crowned himself Emperor in 1804 and ruled Europe…

Nicoli, a Resistance fighter: Born in 1899 in San Gavino di Carbini, Nicoli started his career as a teacher in Corsica and then in Senegal. In 1939, he joined the Communist Party and the Corsican resistance. In 1943, he was arrested by the Italian Gestapo. ‘You do not have the courage to look me in the eyes…you are cowards’ he said to his executioners as he refused to be shot in the back. ‘[…] be proud of your father, he knows you can be – the Moor’s head and the red flower are the only bereavement that I ask. […]’ he wrote to his children before being decapitated by stabbing.