Acquired by the City of Ajaccio in 2019, the Citadelle Miollis, whose foundation stone was laid in 1492, is now the subject of an ambitious and unprecedented project of development, enhancement and opening up to become a new Ajaccian district in the heart of the city center. It is at the same time an archaeological site that opens and tells its story, and a playground for artists, shopkeepers, Ajaccians, tourists and students. All contribute with their presence on the spot to define and direct the project of transformation, today in the study. This artistic and cultural activation allows to tell the project to the Ajaccians, to test uses and to launch an artistic and creative dynamic around the project.

Manifesto accompanies the city of Ajaccio and the SPL Ametarra in the elaboration, the implementation and the coordination of an active approach of opening to the public of the site during its transformation. Manifesto also participates in the programmatic reflection of the site.

The activation includes both an artistic, cultural and heritage program (events, residencies, exhibitions, guided tours organized by the Tourist Office, mediation workshops, student projects, workshops with the Marseille School of Architecture...) and the implementation of various activities and services that make up the new district (a guinguette, artisans' workshops, creative spaces, public spaces...).

Since its opening to the public on July 4, 2021, the Citadelle has become a new part of the city and is being told through multiple testimonials and artistic perspectives.

A project house, called the Maison de la Citadelle, welcomes and guides visitors, informing them about the history of the site, the development project, and the activation of the Citadelle and its programming.

Hé viva 2023

La Citadelle is open to the public every day (9am-7pm) and festive events are scheduled throughout the season from March to December.

Gilles Brusset, winner of the call for visual arts creation on the theme of the Mediterranean: Gilles Brusset's "Tra i petri" on the ramparts of the Ajaccio Citadel was inaugurated last week to mark the launch of the Hè viva 2023 season. Resident at the Citadelle Miollis and winner of the call for visual creations on the theme of the Mediterranean, Gilles Brusset has created an ephemeral work, inviting visitors to enter the historic site of the Citadelle Miollis, while playing with light and the Mediterranean landscape.

The guinguette : GHINGHETTA AIACCINA is open from Tuesday to Sunday (9am-8pm and until 11pm from Friday to Sunday) where Laurent Quirici and Silanu Armani propose a home cooking highlighting Corsican products.

Hé viva 2022

A photographic residency: Winner of a call for photographic residency, Marion Gambin focused her work on the reappropriation of the site by the inhabitants by making portraits of the inhabitants of Ajaccio, which compose the exhibition I Abitanti, conceived with the curator Madeleine Filippi.

An electronic music composition residency: Arnaud Castelli was the winner of the residency call for the creation of an electronic anthem and created the sound identity of the Citadelle.

A temporary installation: The Collectif GRU designed and realized the temporary installation of the site (signage, seats, structure of the guinguette, ticketing...), inspired by the Mediterranean nautical universe and using recycled materials.

Workshop for young people "Design your Citadelle": This circus initiation for children from 6 to 11 years old invited a group of children to a week-long dialogue between the past and the future of the Citadelle, through questions of heritage, architecture, urbanism and ecology and various techniques (drawing, model making).

The opening of the Citadel in 2021

The "Prise d'assaut" creative residency: How to tell the story of and symbolize the "reconquest" by the people of Ajaccio of their Citadel? Winner of a call for creations, the Collectif Parenthèse took over the Citadel and wandered around the city of Ajaccio throughout the summer of 2021 to create a participative work in situ, on the theme that gives its name to the residency. The installation, the result of the residency, is a monumental staircase that invites visitors to discover the extraordinary view that emerges beyond the ramparts of the Citadel. Art historian and curator Fabien Danesi followed the collective's project during the three-month residency.

The Parabolic Agave, a sculpture by Baptiste César: Following a call for residency launched by the City around the theme "Connecting minds, building the future", the artist Baptiste César created a sculpture from materials recovered in the Citadel. Installed on the Bastion Saint Jacques, the parabolic work visible from outside the Citadel, which was bought by the FRAC, is a call to all Ajaccians to discover this heritage site.

A photographic residency: The photographer Céline Clanet won the call for residency to capture the last moment of the Citadel before its reopening. Fannie Escoulen, independent curator, followed the artist throughout her work at the Citadelle. Together, they conceived La richesse nue, an in situ installation of the images created during the residency.