Corsican Flag / A Bandera Corsa

General Pascal Paoli proclaimed Corsica’s independence as a nation in its own right adopted with the “A Bandera Corsa” in 1755.

The flag represents the profile of a Moorish head wearing a white bandana. This symbol is black on a white background.

But, the origin of the Corsican flag is not really determined, indeed, there are several legends on this subject:

Legend 1:

A young Corsican girl named Diana was reportedly kidnapped in the 13th century by “Moors” to be sold as a slave to the King of Granada. But, her fiancé, Pablo managed to free her. Furious, the King of Granada sent his lieutenant Mansour to recover the fugitive. As a result, a battle broke out between the Corsicans and the Moors, won by the Corsican people, Pablo beheaded Lieutenant Mansour. Resultingthe head of Moor appeared on the Corsican flag.

Legend 2:

For many years, Corsica has suffered various invasions that escalated in bloodiness. During their victories and in particular against the “Moors”, the Corsicans reportedly beheaded and impaled their heads on spikes to deter future invaders.  These heads would have become the symbol of defence of the Corsican people.

Legend 3:

The latter legend would be considered the most “plausible” in the eyes of historians.

The Moor’s head is said to have come from the Aragonite period. Indeed, in those days, the Aragonite kingdom dominated the Mediterranean islands, including Corsica, for a very short period of time. It would therefore be in this way that the head of Moor would have appeared on the Corsican flag.