The Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilisations (Mucem; French: ''Musée des Civilisations de l'Europe et de la Méditerranée'') is a national museum located in
Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. It was inaugurated on 7 June 2013 as part of
Marseille-Provence 2013
Marseille-Provence 2013 or MP2013 was the year-long series of cultural events that took place in Marseille, France, and the surrounding area to celebrate the territory's designation as the European Capital of Culture for 2013. In total, there we ...
, a year when Marseille was designated as the
European Capital of Culture. In 2015, it won the
Council of Europe Museum Prize.
Overview
The museum is devoted to European and Mediterranean civilisations. With a permanent collection charting historical and cultural cross-fertilisation in the Mediterranean basin, it takes an interdisciplinary approach to society through the ages up to modern times.
The museum is built on reclaimed land at the entrance to the harbour, next to the site of the 17th-century
Fort Saint-Jean and a former port terminal called the J4. A channel separates the new building and the Fort Saint-Jean, which has been restructured as part of the project. The two sites are linked by a high footbridge, long. Another footbridge links the Fort Saint-Jean to the Esplanade de la Tourette, near the church of St Laurent in the ''Panier'' quarter.
The museum, built "of stone, water and wind",
was designed by the architect
Rudy Ricciotti
Rudy Ricciotti (born 22 August 1952) is a French architect and publisher.Lanie GoodmanGround Breaker ''The New York Times'', September 17, 2012 in collaboration with the architect Roland Carta. A cube of surrounded by a latticework shell of
fibre-reinforced concrete
Fiber-reinforced concrete or fibre-reinforced concrete (FRC) is concrete containing fibrous material which increases its structural integrity. It contains short discrete fibers that are uniformly distributed and randomly oriented. Fibers inclu ...
, it houses exhibits on two levels, with an underground auditorium seating 400. The permanent collection and bookshop are situated on the ground floor. There is a restaurant on the terrace at the top of the building with panoramic views of the bay of Marseille, the Corniche and the Prado.
Galerie
File:Mucem Marseille 02.jpg
File:Mucem Marseille 01.jpg
File:Mucem Marseille 03.jpg
See also
*
Musée national des Arts et Traditions Populaires (France)
The Musée national des Arts et Traditions Populaires was a museum of the popular arts and traditions of France. It was located in a building at 6, avenue du Mahatma Gandhi, Paris, France, which was closed to the public in 2005. Its collections we ...
References
External links
{{Authority control
Museums in Marseille
Tourist attractions in Marseille
2013 establishments in France
Museums established in 2013
Cultural infrastructure completed in 2013
Rudy Ricciotti buildings
National museums of France