Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilisations

{{Infobox museum

| name = Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilizations

| native_name = Musée des Civilizations de l'Europe et de la Méditerranée

| native_name_lang = fr

| image = Mucem Marseille 01.jpg

| caption = Exterior of the Mucem

| logo = New_Logo_Mucem.jpg

| logo_caption = Mucem logo

| alt = Musée des Civilisations de l'Europe et de la Méditerranée

| map_type = France Marseille#France

| map_caption = Location in Marseille

| map_size = 250

| coordinates = {{coord|43.295278|5.361944|region:FR-U|display=inline,title}}

| established = {{Start date|2013|06|01|df=y}}

| dissolved =

| location = Marseille, France

| type = National museum of ethnology

| collection =

| visitors =

| architect = Rudy Ricciotti and Roland Carta

| director =

| president = Jean-François Chougnet

| curator =

| owner = Government of France

| publictransit =

| car_park =

| network =

| website = {{URL|mucem.org}}

}}

The Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilizations (Mucem;{{Cite web |date=2013-06-06 |title=Ouverture au public du MuCEM, la nouvelle muse de Marseille |url=https://www.rfi.fr/fr/europe/20130606-ouverture-public-mucem-nouvelle-muse-marseille |access-date=2023-05-08 |website=RFI |language=fr}} French: Musée des Civilisations de l'Europe et de la Méditerranée) is a national museum located in Marseille, France. It was inaugurated on 7 June 2013 as part of Marseille-Provence 2013, a year when Marseille was designated as the European Capital of Culture.[http://www.france24.com/en/20130604-marseille’-mucem-offers-bridge-between-mediterranean-europe?ns_campaign=nl_quot_en&ns_source=NLQ_20130605&ns_mchannel=email_marketing&ns_fee=0&ns_linkname=20130604_marseille’_mucem_offers_bridge_between_mediterranean&f24_member_id=10118442208 Report in France 24, 4 June 2013, accessed 4 June 2013] In 2015, it won the Council of Europe Museum Prize.{{cite web |url=https://europeanforum.museum/winners/council-europe/|title=WINNER: COUNCIL OF EUROPE MUSEUM PRIZE|website=European Museum Forum|date=2019|accessdate=12 October 2019}}

Between 2013 and 2016, the Mucem welcomed 8.5 million visitors, including 2.2 million in its exhibition spaces.{{Cite web |last=rédaction |first=La |date=2018-01-09 |title=Le Mucem enregistre plus de 1,2 million de visiteurs en 2017 |url=https://madeinmarseille.net/32552-nombre-visiteur-mucem-musee/ |access-date=2023-05-08 |website=Made in Marseille |language=fr-FR}} The museum is therefore presented as a tool for the attractiveness of the territory of the metropolis of Aix-Marseille-Provence.{{Cite web |date=2016-05-12 |title=Le Mucem, une forte attractivité touristique |url=https://www.20minutes.fr/marseille/1844679-20160512-marseille-mucem-forte-attractivite-touristique |access-date=2023-05-08 |website=www.20minutes.fr |language=fr}}

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, {{cvt|130|m}} 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",{{cite web |url=http://www.mucem.org/en/mucem/one-museum-three-sites/j4 |title=J4 |work=Mucem.org |accessdate= July 20, 2016}} was designed by the architect Rudy Ricciotti in collaboration with the architect Roland Carta. A cube of {{convert|15,000|m2|sqft}} surrounded by a latticework shell of fibre-reinforced concrete, 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.

The exhibition devoted in 2022 to the Emir Abdelkader makes it possible to address, for example, issues of history and memory of a great figure in the Mediterranean.{{Cite web |last=Daum |first=Pierre |title=Abd el Kader au Mucem : une vision coloniale de l'Émir |url=https://blogs.mediapart.fr/pierre-daum/blog/020722/abd-el-kader-au-mucem-une-vision-coloniale-de-lemir |access-date=2023-05-08 |website=Mediapart |language=fr}}