Anchorage

Étang De Diana

Shelter: NW, N, NE
Seabed: sand
Anchoring: Allowed

Brackish coastal lagoon on the east coast of Corsica, north of Aléria, connected to the Tyrrhenian Sea by a narrow channel.

Guide

Approach and anchoring

Entry is via a dredged channel on the seaward side of the lagoon. The channel is shallow and shifts with weather, so local knowledge or recent soundings are strongly recommended before attempting it with any significant draught. Once inside, the lagoon is fully enclosed and flat, with sand holding. Shelter is good from NW through N to NE, which is also the typical fair-weather pattern on this coast.

Practical

No marina facilities inside the lagoon. Oyster and mussel farming structures occupy parts of the basin and must be avoided when anchoring. The nearest harbours are Port Taverna, 11.8 nm to the N, and Solenzara, 18.3 nm to the S.

Ashore

The lagoon sits next to the Roman site of Aléria, founded as Alalia by Phocaean Greeks in the 6th century BC and later the main Roman city of Corsica. The archaeological museum Jérôme Carcopino, housed in the Fort de Matra above the site, is about 3 km from the south shore of the lagoon. Oysters from the Étang de Diana have been farmed since Roman times and are still sold at producers on the lagoon shore.

History

Aléria, on the hill above the lagoon, was the Phocaean colony of Alalia from about 565 BC and became the Roman capital of Corsica after the Punic Wars. The lagoon itself was already used as a sheltered harbour in antiquity, and Roman-era oyster shells have been found in the archaeological strata of the site.