Two Shores,
One Memory

To give concrete expression to her love for Corsica, Pascale chose to symbolize it through a meaningful union. She proposed a cultural twinning between Byblos—one of the oldest cities in the world—and Bonifacio. Both cities trace their origins to around 7000 BCE and share a remarkable urban identity, each with its iconic citadel, historic port, and intimate relationship with the sea that has given them a strategic role in Mediterranean history. Both also maintained close historical ties with Genoa, further reflecting their shared Mediterranean heritage. Byblos and Bonifacio embody a continuous history; they are living witnesses to the permanence of civilizations and the dialogue of cultures across the Mediterranean.

Pascale was invited to the "Lire le Monde" festival, dedicated to intercultural dialogue. She performed poems in Arabic by major figures of Lebanese literature (Nadia Tuéni, Amin Maalouf, and Abbas Baydoun) which were then translated and read in Corsican by Alain Di Meglio, cultural attaché of the Bonifacio Town Hall.

The Mayor of Bonifacio invited the Mayor of Byblos, his deputy, and Pascale to participate in the Arte Gustu culinary festival, held under the patronage of star chef Pierre Hermé. As part of the twinning, Lebanese gastronomy was the featured guest of honor, presented alongside leading figures of French cuisine including Guillaume Gomez, François Perret, Glenn Viel and Emmanuel Ryon.

Pascale wished to extend the twinning beyond culture and root it in the natural heritage shared by both territories. The pairing of the Chouf Cedars Biosphere Reserve, recognized under UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme, with the Regional Natural Park of Corsica, which covers nearly 50% of the island, felt both logical and symbolically powerful. This twinning is built on the exchange of expertise, the preservation of natural heritage, and shared reflection on the challenges of climate change.

To give concrete form to the Corsica–Lebanon rapprochement, Pascale organized an official reception in Lebanon in partnership with Ici Beyrouth and several sponsors, bringing together the delegations from the Bonifacio Town Hall and the Regional Natural Park of Corsica. The event helped strengthen ties between the two Mediterranean territories and served to formalize two twinnings—cultural and environmental—while opening the way to lasting joint projects in natural heritage, cultural creation, and scientific exchange.

Pascale marked the twinning by performing the Corsican anthem Dio vi Salvi Regina—a prayer to the Holy Virgin—integrating the Syriac language, an ancestral tongue derived from that of Christ, which passed through Lebanon and bears witness to the earliest expressions of faith. This anthem unites two lands of belief and resistance, carrying a message that is both cultural and political: Corsica and Lebanon share a destiny shaped by history, successive invasions, and the enduring struggle to preserve their identity.