-scaled.jpg)
The signs all along the path trace the main stages in the history of the Ghjuvannali or Giovannali brotherhood.
As well as its historical interest, the trail offers breathtaking views of the valley and surrounding Corsican mountains. The walk is accessible to all fitness levels and can be completed in half a day.
The history of the Ghjuvannali
Au cours du XIVe siècle, l’Occident chrétien connaît une évolution des pratiques de piété, en grande partie influencée par l’essor de l’ordre franciscain et des effets traumatisants de la peste noire. Pour de nombreux croyants, la renonciation aux richesses, la pénitence et l’imitation de la vie de Jésus pauvre et souffrant constituent le chemin le plus sûr vers le salut. Les Franciscains encouragent la création de communautés de laïcs, également appelées tertiaires ou fraternités du tiers-ordre franciscain, qui appliquent les préceptes d’humilité et de pauvreté prônés par Saint François d’Assise.
In Corsica, a poor region dominated by small lords prone to violence, the Franciscan message found a particular echo. In 1352, a community of Franciscan tertiaries was formed in Carbini, which took the name "Giovannali". Under the leadership of Rostaurius, this community clashed with the Bishop of Aléria, who had authority over the Carbini region, notably by refusing all episcopal authority and also taxation. They made many enemies, both ecclesiastical and seigneurial. In 1352, the Bishop of Aléria obtained a papal excommunication against these "heretics" from Pope Innocent VI. Although initially supported by the Bishop of Pisa, they were definitively recognised as heretics.
A papal commissioner, supported by the local lords, organised a military crusade in the Carbini region and the Eastern Plain. Between 1363 and 1364, in the name of the Church, many Ghjuvannali with wives and children were massacred in Carbini, Ghisoni, the convent of Alesani and other villages. Some chose to die with weapons in their hands rather than renounce their faith. The last Ghjuvannali were burnt at Ghisoni, at the foot of the mountains called Kyrie Eleison and Christe Eleison.
