We were looking for a walk that would be easily accessible to everyone and that would be close to Corte.
For several years we had been looking for ancient paths that would allow us to discover the splendid landscapes of the Restonica Valley. We were looking for a walk that would be accessible to the whole family, that would allow us to discover the flora and fauna, and that wouldn’t be boring for the children!
If it hadn’t been for a stroke of luck, we would have said no!
This is the story of how U Fullettu came to be, an old footpath that was reopened in 2024.
But before we tell you our story, here is the real story of Fullettu, the Corsican goblin.
Of course, you know that goblins are mischievous little creatures who like to play practical jokes, but who can also get a little annoying if you play them too often. Fullettu is a real goblin, and like all goblins, he is no exception.
Fullettu lived in Castagniccia, a region just beyond the mountains of Corte towards the sea.
He annoyed a miller by building a small dam every day on the canal that brought water to the mill to turn the millstone. The miller, who spent much of the day repairing the gnome’s mischief, was beginning to get annoyed. He had noticed that the gnome was a great joker, but more importantly, he hated clutter and spent a lot of time tidying things up.
One night, the miller went up to his attic, emptied a sack of wheat and a sack of barley onto the floor and mixed the grains.
The next morning, after waking up, Fullettu walked around the mill as usual, thinking of jokes to make the miller curse. But imagine his surprise when he saw those two sacks of mixed grain! He couldn’t help but pick up grain after grain and put them back into their respective sacks. Soon discouraged by the scale of the task, he fled, leaving the mill behind to live in the Cortenais region.
The hike, which could also be called “The Animal Tour”, was the result of a chance meeting between the Corsican goblin Fullettu, Pascal and Thibaut.
Since his misadventure, Fullettu has aged considerably and has finally become a wise goblin.
So here we were, in front of him, and after a few polite exchanges, the three of us were feeling confident and sharing a very pleasant moment.
It was at this moment that Fullettu showed us an ancient path where the Guardians of the Restonica Valley live. They are stone animals, but only during the day. At night they wake up and watch over the Restonica valley to make sure it stays as beautiful as it is. They polish the rocks, dust the trees and chase away the bad guys.
Fullettu asked us to help him clean up this old path that runs past the fossilized animals.
But first he had to take a nap, given his age. He doesn’t remember very well, but he thinks he’s 1,243 years old.
Thibaut and I set to work: we dug, levelled, sawed, cleaned and signposted this old path so that you could discover this family walk, easily accessible and just a stone’s throw from Corte. We even drew a map with riddles and some information about the flora and fauna.
After several weeks of work, our work was finally done. As luck would have it, Fullettu woke up from his nap and said he was ready to work.
Thibaut looked at me and asked if we weren’t being a bit naive!
Today, the UFullettu trail, this animal round, is a trail that belongs to you for a few hours. It’s up to you to discover the fossilized animals that Fullettu showed us and that are hidden throughout this hike in the Restonica valley.