‘Corsica came into view with the dawn. Almost colourless, its outlines uncertain, it swam in the early morning mist… the mountains surged into the sky… their lower slopes, smothered in vegetation, looked uninhabited and impenetrable.’
So Dorothy Carrington described her arrival to Corsica by boat in 1948 in Granite Island (1971). Soaring in from above, my views of the mountains, so many years later, were just the same, but, once I had landed, I claimed for myself the sight of the golden sun setting behind the famous lion of Roccapina, silhouetting its pink granite shape as we wound our way to Domaine de Murtoli.
A Mandria di Murtol resembles a small Tuscan village.
Arriving at dusk, I stepped into an air heavy with the scent of maquis — myrtle, rosemary, lavender and thyme — welcoming wood-smoke and sea salt.
People often say that Corsica is a French Island that basks in the Italian sun, but in this corner in the island's south-west, on an estate of more than 6,000 acres, Corsica is defiantly itself.
The hotel’s story starts in 1993, when Paul Canarelli inherited a parcel of land, neatly sandwiched between sea and mountain. He decided, as a sort of homage to his grandfather and to the land, to restore one of the 17th-century shepherd houses — a number of which dot the fields, some overlooking the sea, some in the olive-tree groves.
The dry-stone walls were duly crowned with ancient terracotta tiles, heavy shutters, carved from chestnut wood, were installed and an oak floor laid. Stone sinks were brought in and the walls were washed in lime.
Aubrac is a French breed of beef cattle. It originates on the Plateau de l'Aubrac in the Massif Central in central southern France.
Today, there are 20 such houses, all immaculately restored to their original footprints. Their windows frame views of a shimmering sea, Aubrac cows, sheep and, even, opportunistic wild boar, rootling for acorns, figs and chestnuts. Often, the only sound to interrupt the delicious silence is birdsong.
Twenty-first-century luxuries, including private pools, often set between rocks, have also been installed. There is a central farmhouse with a clutch of suites for those who might find the cottages too isolating, plus a bar and a restaurant. In the winter, a soaring fireplace keeps diners warm; in the summer, it’s possible to eat outside on the lavender-filled terrace.
The farm-to-table concept triumphs here; think Murtoli’s own sheep's cheese and honey, chestnuts and beef, wine and olive oil. Fruits and vegetables come from the large, organic garden.
New this year is A Mandria di Murtoli, a Tuscan hamlet-style offering, next door. There are rooms in the main house, surrounded by lemon trees, and suites inside the sheepfolds. The communal swimming pool is the perfect spot from which to watch the sun slip behind the surrounding hills, surrounded by fairy light-strewn olive trees and the smell of tagliolini al limone. It's one of the moments that might just make you believe in magic.
Rooms at Domaine de Murtoli start from €290 at the Hôtel de la Ferme and from €330 in a Shepherd House.
Rooms at A Mandria di Murtoli start from €280 in a double room in the main building and from €270 in a Shepherd House.