We went to see the new Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilizations in Marseilles with our friend Elizabeth. Marseilles is this year’s European Capital of Culture and the museum was built as its centerpiece.
Wow,
is it cool! The museum is a giant
glass cube with a ramp that winds around it, climbing from floor to floor. Outside the ramp is an exoskeleton made of
black concrete and vaguely like a spider web.
It is hard to describe so you’ll have to see the pictures (some are best if you click on them to enlarge).
The
museum sits at the edge of the Mediterranean, near the old port and connected
to the fort by a narrow walkway. The
views are spectacular. Marseilles is
hard to drive in but we are glad we made the effort.
The
only problem is that they seem to run out of money before they got to things
like signs and logistics. Despite this
being one of the most important new buildings in decades, there are no signs
in town telling you where it is. Zero. And drunken kindergartners could have designed
a more logical entry hall – dark and gloomy, no signs to direct you, random
lines snaking through the room, confusion everywhere.
And
the museum exhibits themselves can charitably be described as, um,
incoherent. A pasta machine next to a thatched-roof
hut somehow represents Agriculture? But
it was hard to tell because some of the explanatory signs were only in French,
some only in English, some only in Spanish. When there were any at all, that is.
But
heck, maybe the museum exhibits really do represent European civilization. They were thought through at least as well as
the Euro!
KVS
The museum and fort
On the rooftop terrace
New and old together
The high walkway to the fort (a sign advises helpfully "Don't Jump")
The old port
