Corsican crafts, pottery, and traditions in 2025: a local immersion in Saint-Florent

Beyond its dream beaches and lively port, Saint-Florent is also a hotspot for living traditions. In 2025, the town and its surroundings offer a fascinating insight into Corsican craftsmanship, with potters, cutlers, pastry chefs, and shepherds. Here is an immersive itinerary to discover the ancestral techniques, noble materials, and human stories that shape Corsica's identity.

🏺 J. Truchon's pottery workshop: the art of Corsican clay

In a discreet alleyway in old Saint-Florent, J. Truchon's workshop is a veritable institution. This master potter perpetuates techniques inherited from Genoese and Italian traditions, with a decidedly island touch.

What you can experience in 2025:

Introduction to clay throwing on a traditional potter's wheel

Create your own piece inspired by Corsican motifs

Firing in a wood-fired kiln

Glazed piece sent to your home after drying

A sensory and creative experience, perfect for taking home a unique, handmade souvenir.

🔪 Corsican cutlery in Oletta: forge your own “cornicciolu”

A few minutes from Saint-Florent, Jean-Noël Guillaumin's workshop in Oletta offers a rare immersion into the world of traditional cutlery.

What you will learn:

Selecting heather wood for the handle

Shaping the blade with traditional tools

Personalized engraving with Corsican symbols

Group limited to 3 people for personalized guidance

The “cornicciolu,” the iconic knife of Corsican shepherds, becomes an object of art and memory.

🍪 The secrets of canistrelli in a family kitchen

In a house in the old village, a Corsican grandmother welcomes you for a pastry workshop. You will learn how to make the famous canistrelli, crunchy aniseed or chestnut biscuits.

On the agenda:

Preparing the dough according to traditional recipes

Using local white wine, as tradition dictates

Shaping the twists by hand

A box of canistrelli to take home

A warm, delicious experience rich in anecdotes.

🧀 Make your own brocciu cheese in a sheepfold in Nebbiu

Off the beaten track, a traditional sheepfold opens its doors to you for a workshop on making brocciu, the island's iconic cheese.

What you will experience:

3-hour hands-on workshop with a shepherd

Production and aging techniques

Comparative tasting according to stages of maturation

Recipe book to take home

An ideal activity for understanding the deep connection between Corsicans and their land.

🛍️ Where to meet artisans and buy local

Markets and places not to be missed:

Oletta craft market: Tuesdays and Fridays, pottery, knives, jams, essential oils

Maison des Vins de Patrimonio: local products and handicrafts

Shops in the old port: textile creations, soaps, cosmetics made from maquis plants

Each encounter is an opportunity to exchange, learn, and support a vibrant local economy.

🌿 Living traditions and transmission

Craftsmanship in Saint-Florent is not stuck in the past. It evolves, is passed on, and reinvents itself. Younger generations are taking over family workshops, incorporating modern techniques while respecting the traditions of yesteryear. In 2025, this dynamic is palpable in every shop, every workshop, and every market.

Conclusion: a Corsica to touch, feel, and understand

Discovering Saint-Florent through its crafts means entering into the intimacy of a proud, generous, and deeply rooted culture. It also means leaving with much more than a souvenir: a story, a skill, an emotion.