Romantic, Rustic Corsica is Melting Pot of Style, Culture

The waters of the Mediterranean have brought many different cultures to the island of Corsica, beginning with the Greeks, centuries ago. It is what makes this rugged island, primarily mountainous, so intriguing for visitors today. Corsica belongs to France, but its history, like the languages spoken and its food heritage, has a definite Italian imprint from the occupation by Genoa once upon a time.

Visit its markets, its farm inns, and even its most elegant restaurants and discover a unique cuisine and way of life. Corsica is made all the more enticing by the wonderful flora flourishing on the island, along with the cultivation of chestnuts, mandarins, and olives.

Here, too, enjoy the spirit, history, and romance captured in Hooker Furniture’s brand new Corsica Collection. It is a marriage of an alluring place with a fresh, sun-washed style designed for your home, as illustrated in this Corsica dining room featuring a rectangle pedestal dining table and Belgian-inspired display cabinets.

The ample rectangular table is finished in the espresso hue, and display cabinets appear sun-washed in a natural finish reminiscent of the beloved chestnuts of Corsica. Wood is acacia solids and veneers. Corsica is itself a blend of cultures—and so this collection that includes influences from French, Italian, and other European furniture styles, as well as its personal signature for today’s casual lifestyle.

• Natural Beauty and Produce: About a fifth of Corsica is blessed with flowering shrubs and wild herbs. This is why you’ll find mint, for example, in local cooking. There is no better place to get a wonderful taste of the foods of Corsica than the many regional markets such as the central one in the coastal town of Ajaccio.

You’ll revel in local sheep and goat cheeses, breads, pastries, and chestnut-infused beignets. Corsican cooks worship the chestnut—using the flour and liqueur in many recipes. The market is also fragrant with bundles of lavender and thyme, among other herbs. And the vendors are especially happy to share the food and the wonder of their island.

Bring the charm of a Corsican market to this dining room credenza.

It’s the ideal place for a buffet, perhaps with produce from your local farmers’ market. When not entertaining, why not have a display of dried herbs, reminiscent of those flourishing on Corsica? The credenza has a practical felt-lined tray drawer and movable shelves behind its four doors.

• Farm Inns: To experience the true rustic charm of Corsica, many visitors book into the hospitable auberges for the good home cooking of Corsica. Auberge du Licetto proudly presents a selection of rural dishes. Saveur Magazine has shared several recipes from U Licettu, which they proclaim “a bastion of old-school Corsican cuisine.”  And visitors to the auberge have remarked that the pork cooked over an open fire was prepared the way a Corsican grandmother might have prepared it.

Visitors to U Licettu often stay overnight in rooms that face the water and perhaps dream of the morning’s sumptuous breakfast that awaits them. From the Corsica Collection,  a queen-sized panel bed reflects the casual ambience of the farm inns on the island.

The wire brushed finish enhances its old world heritage. French style is very much evident in the gracious lines of the bed.

• Fine Restaurants: Even removed from the heart of the country, restaurants in Corsica rely on the native in their cuisine. At Restaurant Pasquale Paoli, the chef creates dishes with French influence but never strays too far from the traditional legacy of the island—”thoughtful takes on local ingredients” is how Saveur describes the cooking here. The owners proclaim a passion for their island home and their cooking. On their web site there is a wide assortment of featured dishes, illustrating how imaginative their fare can be.

• Sum: To take an armchair trip to Corsica, follow Saveur’s guide for places to stay, things to do, and definitely enjoy the recipes. Getting to know a new place, even in the pages of a magazine, has its rewards. And perhaps you might put a trip to this most “pleasant” island on your travel agenda—sitting at this lovely Corsica writing desk in the dramatic espresso finish.

This writing desk is actually the second prize in a National Corsica Sweepstakes that kicks off today! Enter here, where you can browse the entire collection and pick your favorite piece. You could win your favorite piece and bring home the flavor of the island in Hooker Furniture’s Corsica sweepstakes celebrating its debut of the Corsica Collection in retail stores throughout the country.