| Built along a rocky promontory 10km north of Bastia, the small port of ERBALUNGA is the highlight of the east coast, with aged, pale buildings stacked like crooked boxes behind a small harbour and ruined Genoese watchtower. A little colony of French artists lived here in the 1920s, and the village has drawn a steady stream of admirers ever since. It attracts a fair number of tourists throughout the year, and come summer it's transformed into something of a cultural enclave, with concerts and art events adding a spark to local nightlife. the town is most famous, however, for its Good Friday procession, known as the Cerca (Search), which evolved from an ancient fertility rite. Hooded penitents, recruited from the ranks of a local religious brotherhood, form a spiral known as a Granitola, or snail, which unwinds as the candlelit procession moves into the village square. A port since the time of the Phoenicians, Erbalunga was once a more important trading centre than Bastia or Ajaccio. With the increasing exportation of wine and olive oil, in the eleventh century it became the capital of an independent village-state, ruled by the da Gentile family, who lived in the palazzu that dominates place de-Gaulle. The one hotel, the gorgeous Castel Brando (tel 04.95.30.10.30, fax 04.95.33.98.18; April to mid-Oct; €125–150), stands at the entrance to the place, shaded by a curtain of mature date palms, like the backdrop to a classic Visconti movie. It's an elegant, old, stone-floored palazzu with a lovely pool and its own car park. Period furniture and antique Corsican engravings fill the rooms and apartments, which are all air conditioned; those on the top floor have great views. Pick of the harbourside restaurants is the renowned Le Pirate (tel 04.95.33.24.20; Easter–Oct) for whose cuisine gastronomique well-heeled Bastias flock here throughout the year. Seafood delicacies dominate their menu, but vegetarians are well catered for with entrées from the carte. The house set menu costs around €30; à la carte courses range from €15–55. A less expensive option is A Piazzetta (tel 04.95.33.28.69), in the tiny square behind the harbour, which does acceptable pizzas and has a generous selection of fresh pasta dishes from €10.50–18.
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