Travel in Marseille-France-History-WorldTravelGate.net®-

It was the Phoenicians who first set up residence on the shores near what is today's Vieux Port, over 2600 years ago. Massala was the name the settlement went by, later becoming Marseilles. But in the underwater grotto of Cosquer, located in an inlet to the east of the town, there is evidence that the area was inhabited far earlier.... 28,000 years ago. Above the year 600 before the Christ, the Greeks moored in Marseille. They made the town flourishing thanks to the trade and created active god owns such as Arles, Nice or Antibes. They cleared the coast and planted their fruit trees and olive-trees. Marseille was a point of intensely civilization. During the crusades, the town made its maritime development thanks to the naval constructions. Today, the old harbour is still an animated place in the town. The « Cannebière »is often linked to it. It’s the famous avenue of Marseille, boarded with luxurious shops, hotels and cafés with animated terraces.

Notre-Dame de la Garde basilica belongs to the famous monuments of Marseille. It was built in the middle of the XIX^th century in a romano-byzantine style. A huge golden statue of the Virgin surmounts the church tower. The building is divided in two parts: the Low Church, the vaulted crypt, and the high church, the sanctuary. Inside, colored marbles are used as mosaics and a lot of ex-votos relay the walls. Notre-Dame de la Garde stands on a calcareous rock at 162 meters up. From the square, there is a very nice view on the islands, the If castle, the harbour and the town itself among the hills. The president Kennedy ledge is also a place to see the islands and the coast by hugging the sea on more than 5 kilometres. The Calanques' landscape was formed approximately 12000 years ago. The exposed rocks are Urgonian limestone, which are even older; the sedimentary deposits are of varying quality depending on the era.

The depth of the valleys is due to the number of sea movements; the reduction in sea level followed by its rise after the glacial period submerged the creeks creating the marvellous Provencal Calanques.There are around fifteen underwater cave systems to be found in the Calanques. As the sea level was much lower 12000 years ago these caves sheltered humans who have left us a lot of extremely interesting prehistoric cave paintings.

49 B.C. : The flotilla of Julius Cesar laid anchor in the ocean near to the islands, this is the start of the Roman siege of Marseilles.
In the XIIIth century : the islands became a stopping-off point for boats leaving for the Crusades.
1524 : François 1er has a fortress castle built on If to protect Marseilles
From the XVIIth century : A quarantine system is installed by the city to protect itself against the menacing tide of epidemics. The Frioul islands become a principle piece in this system.
1627 : The Pomègue port becomes an inspection port for suspect ships.
1720 : despite the security fence that is provided by the Frioul islands the plague gains the city of Marseilles by way of a boat from the East called the « Le Grand Saint Antoine » .
1822 - 1826 : Construction of the sea dike between Pomègue and Ratonneau for mooring of boats in quarantine and the construction of a quarantine hospital (Hôpital Caroline) which was only finally closed in 1948.
August 1944 : The German troops who had taken and occupied the old ancient fortresses are beaten back by American troops.
1970 : The Marseilles City municipality buys the islands of Pomègue and Ratonneau to building.