User:Zeebo7/Stairs of the King of Aragon

The Stairs of the King of Aragon are, along with the Grain de sable, a tourist attraction in Bonifacio (in Corsica), along its cliffed coast of limestone.

Location
The Stairs of the King of Aragon are found on the Mediterranean sea, more precisely at the south of the Pointe du Timon (Bonifacio) upon which the citadel of Bonifacio was founded, itself at the southern point of Corsica. The cliff face on which the stairs face the Strait of Bonifacio which separates Corsica from Sardinia.

Seen from the sea when approaching by boat, it appears as a long line through the limestone cliff. Closer-up, it appears as a walkway carved into the side of the cliff.

In 1420, Alphonse V of Aragon attempted to lay claim to the island after Corsica had been conceded to his ancestor, Jacques II, by pope Boniface VIII. Along with Vincentello d'Istria, named as the vice-roy of Corsica, he laid seige to Bonifacio over the course of nearly five months.

The Genoese Colony resisted, and the siege was eventually lifted. A legend claimed that the stairs were dug in a single night by the Spanish.

In reality, these stairs were created over a longer period of time by Friars, in order to access a potable water source situated in the grotto at the food of the cliffs. .

Carved directly into the bonifaccienne limestone (calcarenite), the stairs are composed of 187 steps, with an inclination of approximately 45°. At the bottom of the steps, 15m above sea level, a horizontal walkway carved into the limestone allows access to the grotto.

Above the grotto a well was carved in the 19th certury (the well of Saint-Barthélémy). Originally, a sequence of buckets powered by a windmill pulled up the briny water, then relayed by a donkey-powered water wheel. The buckets dumped their contents into a cistern near the well which could contain up to 21 700 litres.

Recognition
The cite, now owned by the state, has been inducted into the list of historical monuments.