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Built along a rocky promontory 10km north of Bastia, the small port of ERBALUNGA is the highlight of the east coast, with aged, pale buildings stacked like crooked boxes behind a small harbour and ruined Genoese watchtower. A little colony of French artists lived here in the 1920s, and the village has drawn a steady stream of admirers ever since. It attracts a fair number of tourists throughout the year, and come summer it's transformed into something of a cultural enclave, with concerts and art events adding a spark to local nightlife. The town is most famous, however, for its Good Friday procession, known as the Cerca (Search), which evolved from an ancient fertility rite. Hooded penitents, recruited from the ranks of a local religious brotherhood, form a spiral known as a Granitola , or snail, which unwinds as the candlelit procession moves into the village square. A port since the time of the Phoenicians, Erbalunga was once a more important trading centre than Bastia or Ajaccio. With the increasing exportation of wine and olive oil, in the eleventh century it became the capital of an independent village-state, ruled by the da Gentile family, who lived in the palazzo that dominates place de-Gaulle. In the harbour, a few bars shaded by an enormous chestnut tree look out across the water to the tower. The one hotel , the stylish Castel'Brando , is sited at the entrance to the square (tel 04.95.30.10.30, fax 04.95.33.98.18; 400-500F/?61-76; closed Nov-March): a beautifully restored Latin-American-style palazzu , it has plenty of period charm, but doesn't have a restaurant. For a meal , your best bet is Le Pirate , on the harbourside 30m from place de-Gaulle (tel 04.95.33.24.20), which has been there for years and serves delicious seafood specialities. A less pricey option is A Piazzetta , in the tiny square behind (tel 04.95.33.28.69), offering mainly pizzas and a generous selection of fresh pasta dishes from 60F/?9.12.
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