The Università di Corsica Pasquale Paoli was one of the first universities founded in Corsica, established by the independent republic in 1765. When the French took the island in 1769, they suppressed it — it was not refounded until 1981, after a long campaign by Corsican cultural and autonomy movements. Today it is the island's only university, with around 4,000 students spread across campuses in Corte, Ajaccio, and Biguglia.
The campus on the southern edge of Corte is pleasant to walk through, and its existence explains a good deal about the town's atmosphere. Corte has cafes, bookshops, and a live music scene that you would not expect in a mountain settlement of its size. The university's Corsican Studies department also does serious academic work on the Corsican language and history — another mark of the island's determination to maintain its distinctiveness within France.