This is one of those stories we like to hear. It’s in the village of Farinolelocated at the entrance to Cap Corse and populated by some 221 inhabitants, that the idea emerged.
“With other inhabitants of the village, we decided to embark on the project of mount a cross at the top of Mount San Jacinto“says Louis de Marco, at the origin of the project which combines attachment to the land and tradition.
“This was important to me for several reasons. First of all because it is the highest peak in the town, and then, because the whole village was talking about it. Many mountains in Corsica have a cross, ours does not, so we wanted to remedy thisr“he adds.
To do this, we still had to start at the beginning: making a cross.
“We didn’t just assemble a piece of iron”
The project began five years ago when the father of a friend of Marco’s, a welder, made him a cross. “To my surprise, the cross is huge. She is 3.5 meters tall and weighs more than 55 kg!“remembers Louis de Marco still displaying a broad smile.
To make this project even more sacred, Louis and everyone involved decide to bless the cross. Second highly symbolic step.
So, on May 22, they presented themselves before Cardinal François Bustillowho responded to the request. “It is a very strong symbol for us. It shows that we have not just assembled a piece of iron.“says Louis.
The final sequence consisted of making the site accessible and therefore clear the way which leads to the summit: “The most difficult part was obviously the climb, taking care not to damage it.“explains the young man.
You will have to wait until the cleaning is finished and the nice weather begins before starting. the ascension of the cross.
“It took us two hours to reach the summit”
The date is finally set for June 15, 2024. “So we started the Stations of the Cross around 6am, in the cool of the morning. In total, we were about twenty people, with five permanent cross-bearers taking turns. The other people were responsible for assembling the equipment to seal it. It took us about two hours to reach the top“he recalls.
“This is a project of which we are all very proud. It brings to fruition the love we have for our land“concludes the young mountain enthusiast who is now dreaming of a next challenge.
