With work over, I had a few hours to kill before the evening flight to Orly, so I went to the Palais Fesch, one of two ‘musts’ in Ajaccio. Napoleon’s half-uncle, Cardinal Fesch, was an art lover and ardent collector who first amassed a vast collection of French, Flemish and Dutch pictures and then completed it with the second most important collection of 14th to 18th century Italian works outside the Louvre. All of this was bequeathed to Ajaccio on condition that an academy of arts was created. His wishes were not entirely respected and a number of key works were sold off, but the palace was nevertheless built to house the collection and is still full to overflowing. For me, two paintings stood out. One was Titian’s Man with a Glove, the man’s pensive expression belied by the intricate lacework of his shirt. The other was Veronese’s uncompromisingly erotic Leda and the Swan. Downstairs there is a collection of Napoleonic memorabilia, including his first sword. I am not an expert on Napoleon but I know enough about his life story to know that he must have held that sword with immense pride.