Montilati - San Quilico

The island of Corsica is one of the 18 regions of France. It was colonized the Carthaginians, the Greeks, the Etruscans and the Romans. After the Roman empire collapsed, Corsica got invaded by the Vandals and the Ostrogoths. For a short while the island belonged to the Byzantine Empire, then the Franks granted the island to the Pope, in the early 11th century Pisa and Genoa together freed the island from the threat of Arab invasion. The island came under the influence of the Republic of Pisa, later it belonged to Genua for centuries. In 1755 after a long fight for independence from Genoa the independent Corsican Republic was proclaimed, but in 1769, when the island was conquered by France. As the areas near the coast over centuries have been threatened by attacks and raids of pirates many old hamlets and dwellings are wide inland, high in the mountains.


Montilati is a small hamlet near Figari, but I had difficulties to find this chapel in the "macchia" at the end of an unsealed cul-de-sac. The robust-looking chapel is small, only 734m long and 3,10m wide. It was erected end of the 12th century. The interior of the chapel hides a quite a surprise. The single nave is barrel-vaulted. This small chapel is indeed the only barrel-vaulted church or chapel on the entire island of Corsica.