A piece of history

The recorded history of ‘Massalia’ begins when Greek sailors from Phoncaea arrived and established a trading centre at the location of today’s Vieux Port. The location near the mouth of the Rhône made it an important, strategic centre for trade, a tradition that persists to this day.

Sea trade would go directly to Massalia, where goods would then travel up the Rhône and on towards the Atlantic. Tin was a primary trade item, but wine was also introduced by the Greeks, along with the vines necessary for local production.

In the 7th and 6th centuries BC, trade disputes led the Massaliots to call on the help of Rome, and thus Massailia soon became part of the growing Roman Empire. The city had periods of prosperity and crises over the following centuries, depending on the politics of the day.

In more modern times, the Great Plague in the 18th century was a disaster for Marseille, as nearly half the population perished. Marseille was cut off from the rest of Provence, with Parliament forbidding any communication with Marseille upon ‘pain of death’, but the Plague spread, eventually touching the entire country.

Today Marseille is a modern and multicultural city, the ‘second city’ of France. The city can boast a dynamic, creative community, from Rap artists to movie directors, and is now seen as an ‘electric’ city.