Cavallo (island)
small island in the Mediterranean Sea
Cavallo (Corsican: Isula di Cavaddu; Bonifacian dialect: Isula Cavaddu) is a small island in the Mediterranean Sea located between Corsica and Sardinia. Cavallo is the southernmost inhabited territory of metropolitan France and part of the commune of Bonifacio, Corsica.
Geography
Cavallo is the only inhabited island of the Lavezzi archipelago, 2.3 km from the Corsican coast, close to the Strait of Bonifacio. It is about 13 km from Sardinia. The island is French territory, though it belonged to Italy in the past. Cavallo Island is about 120 hectares in area and its highest point is 32 metres above sea level. It has a small port.
History
Cavallo has a long history, beginning when Ancient Rome sent prisoners there to cut granite for monuments. The island was abandoned during Augustus’ empire, and remained uninhabited until a shepherd settled there with his flock in 1800. The deep sea surrounding the island hid dangerous obstacles for navigators, earning the island the nickname “The Cursed Siren.” In 1855 the French frigate Semillante which was transporting soldiers to Crimea sank nearby and all 693 on board were lost at sea.
“Cavallo (island)” enters the record as small island in the Mediterranean Sea. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Cavallo, island and small can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Cavallo (island)” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Cavallo, island and small provides the most credible route into that argument.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Nov 1, 2024. The linked authority identifier is Q292271. Authority coordinates are 41.368, 9.262. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1800 and 1855.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
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Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
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Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Cavallo (island)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.