Marseille - Villa Méditerranée / Grotte Cosquer

Marseille, today the second most populous city in France, was founded around 600 BC by Greek settlers. It was known to the ancient Greeks as Massalia.

There were always conflicts with the Celtic tribes that ruled Gaul. 125 BC Massalia summoned the troops of the Roman Empire for help against the attacks of Gallic tribes. During the course of the war, the entire territory of southern Gaul was annexed by the Romans as the province of Gallia Narbonensis. The city itself was able to retain its independence for several decades but in 49 BC it was finally conquered and integrated into the province of Narbonensis.

At the beginning of the 5th century AD, the monastery of Saint-Victor was founded, which was to become the residence of the bishops of Marseille from 750 to 960. In 481 Marseille fell to the Visigoths, 508 to the Ostrogoths and 536 to the Franks.
Destroyed by the Saracens, the city was rebuilt in the 10th century and placed under the Vicomtes de Marseille. For a few years, Marseille was an independent republic but when Charles of Anjou, brother of King Louis IX. of France, became Count of Provence, he submitted to Marseille.
In 1423 Alfonso V of Aragon conquered and devastated the city. René, Count of Provence, rebuilt it and after the death of his successor, Count Charles of Maine, it became part of the French crown in 1481.

The Villa Méditerranée is an exhibition building that stands next to the Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilizations. The building was designed by Italian architect Stefano Boeri and inaugurated in 2013.

Since June 2022, it has presented a detailed replica of the "Cosquer Cave" from the nearby Calanques National Park with cave paintings up to 33,000 years old. This cave, whose entrance is 37 m below sea level, was first discovered by Henri Cosquer in 1985. He completed several dives into this cave over the course of months. In 1991 cave paintings were discovered.

The entrance to the cave was towards the end of the Würm Ice Age, i.e. at the time of use, about 80 m above sea level and about 11 km from the coast. This changed when the sea level rose sharply due to the thawing of the polar ice caps.