Vincent d'Istria Vincentello built the citadel of Corte in 1420. Located in the heart of the island between the road to Bastia and Ajaccio, at the confluence of Tavignano and Restonica rivers, it bears the popular name of "The Eagle's Nest". Successively owned by France and then Genoa, Corte eventually was crowned "government for the Corsican nation" by Pasquale Paoli in the eighteenth century.