Aléria

Aléria (aleʁja; Ancient Greek: Ἀλαλίη/Ἀλλαλία, Alalíē/Allalía; Latin and Italian: Aleria; U Cateraghju) is a commune in the Haute-Corse department of France on the island of Corsica, former bishopric and present Latin Catholic titular see. It includes the easternmost point in Metropolitan France. Aléria shares the canton of Moïta-Verde with 13 other communes: Moïta, Ampriani, Campi, Canale-di-Verde, Chiatra, Linguizzetta, Matra, Pianello, Pietra-di-Verde, Tallone, Tox, Zalana and Zuani. Aléria is to the south of Bastia on Route N198, in the centre of the Plaine Orientale, also called the Plaine d'Aléria, the east-central coastal plain of the island facing Italy. It includes a number of villages and monuments. Most of the rest of the island is precipitously mountainous. The eastern coastline is punctuated by a number of lakes connecting (but not always) to the Tyrrhenian Sea, the remnant of an ancient system of lagoons behind barrier beaches. The Corsicans refer to them under the name of Étang, "pool", although most are larger by far than an English pool. Marshland is also extensive on the coast requiring that cities be built inland from it. Malaria has historically been a problem near the marshlands and swamps of eastern Corsica. The fine barrier beaches are a recreational attraction. The Tavignano River (Tavignanu) enters the commune to the northwest and exits into the Tyrrhenian Sea. Its lands include a delta, marshes to the south and the unconnected Étang de Diane to the north. To the west, the étang de Terre Rosse is a lake and reservoir used to irrigate the plain. Corsica had an indigenous population in the Neolithic and the Bronze Age but the east coast was subject to colonization by Mediterranean maritime powers: Greeks, Etruscans, Carthaginians, Romans. They typically built on an étang, which they used as a harbor. Alalíē (Ionic dialect) was placed between the southern end of the long Ētang de Diane and the Tavignano River (the classical Rhotanos), slightly inland, but controlling the entire district including the mouth of the river.