France - Ajaccio

Ajaccio  is a French commune, prefecture of the department ofCorse-du-Sud, and head office of the Collectivité territoriale de Corse (capital city of Corsica). It is also the largest settlement on the island. Ajaccio is located on the west coast of the island of Corsica, 210 nautical miles (390 km) southeast of Marseille. The commune occupies a sheltered position at the foot of wooded hills on the northern shore of the Gulf of Ajaccio between Gravona and the pointe de la Parata and includes the îles Sanguinaires (Bloody Islands). The harbour lies to the east of the original citadel below a hill overlooking a peninsula which protects the harbour in the south where the Quai de la Citadelle and the Jettée de la Citadelle are. The modern city not only encloses the entire harbour but takes up the better part of the Gulf of Ajaccio and in suburban form extends for some miles up the valley of the Gravona River. The flow from that river is nearly entirely consumed as the city's water supply. Many beaches and coves border its territory and the terrain is particularly rugged in the west where the highest point is 790 m (2,592 ft).
La Place d’Austerlitz in Ajaccio, Corsica is the location of an enormous monument to Napoleon Bonaparte.  Not seen in the photograph below are two eagles surmounting the years in which Napoleon was born and died (1769-1821).  The year of Napoleon’s birth is subject to some debate.  Various documents list the date of his birth as 15 August 1769, 08 January 1768, or 05 February 1768.  The date of birth on the oldest document (and therefore the one created closest to the actual event) is 15 August 1769.

Department Vendée.