"Down the Lane – Bastia, Corsica"

gelatin silver print, toned, mounted on cardboard

titled and signed (pencil) on verso, exhibition label on mount verso

This atmospheric photograph by unknown amateur photographer W.P.A. Chambers shows an alleyway in Bastia, Corsica. In the background is the city's landmark, the Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste church.
However, the idyllic scene in the picture belies the political and social reality of the interwar period in Corsica. During this time, a far-reaching network of the Corsican mafia developed in Marseille on the French mainland, which was not only involved in arms and drug trafficking, but also exerted increasing political influence. Bastia played a central role as a social and logistical retreat. The close family and economic ties between Bastia and the Corsican diaspora in Marseille ensured a continuous exchange of information, people, and resources. Many of the leading figures in the Marseille underworld originally came from Bastia or maintained networks there through which weapons could be procured or “business” conducted discreetly.
These criminal structures and political interconnections reached their peak in the 1930s, a time when economic hardship, political instability, and the weakness of state institutions increasingly provided opportunities for organized groups.
At the same time, fascist Italy's territorial claims on Corsica became increasingly vocal. Italian maps, schoolbooks, and newspapers depicted Corsica as alienated Italian territory.
(Christoph Fuchs)