Marseilles, France

Bustling and cosmopolitan, Marseilles (pop. 807,700) is the second largest city in France and one of its most important seaports; an underground canal links it with the Rhône River . Marseilles is a major industrial city where flour, vegetable oil, soap, cement, sugar, sulfur, chemicals, and processed foods are produced. The city opened a subway system in 1977, and is connected to most major European cities by rail, road, air, or boat.

History

   The oldest town in France , Marseilles was settled by Phocaean Greeks from Asia Minor c.600 BCE . Known as Massilia, it became an ally of Rome , which annexed it (49 BCE) after it supported Pompey against Caesar. Although the city retained its internal autonomy, it was of secondary importance during the Middle Ages. The upper city was ruled by its bishops from 539 until 1288, when it was reunited with the lower city, which had been governed independently by a city council since 1214. During the Crusades (11th-14th centuries) Marseilles was a commercial center and a transit port for the Holy Land . The city declined commercially in the first half of the 14th century. Marseilles was taken by Charles I of Anjou (13th century) and then absorbed by Provence and bequeathed (with Provence ) to the French crown in 1481. In the 1700s commerce revived, mainly with the Levant and the Barbary States ; although the plague wiped out almost half its population in 1720, Marseilles continued to enjoy prosperity until the civil strife of the French Revolution. In the 19th century the French conquest of Algeria and the opening of the Suez Canal led to a tremendous expansion of the port of Marseilles and to the city's industrialization.

Marseilles Points of Interest

   The sight of Marseilles from the sea, a gleaming white city rising on a semicircle of bare hills, is famous. The Canebière, the principal thoroughfare, is one of the great avenues of the world. The science and medical schools of the Univ. of Aix-en-Provence are in Marseilles , as are industrial and engineering schools, the National School of Marine Commerce, and an observatory. A landmark of Marseilles harbor is the Château d'If castle. Excavations in 1966-67 uncovered what are believed to be vestiges of the ramparts of ancient Massilia.