Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilisations Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilisations The Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilisations (MuCEM; 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. 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
European Capital of Culture Culture and was conceived in 1983, by Melina Mercouri, then serving as minister of culture in [Greece]. Mercouri believed that at the time, culture was not given the same attention as politics and economics and a project for promoting European cultures within the member states should be pursued. The European City of Culture programme was launched in the summer of 1985 with Athens being the first title-holder. During the German presidency of 1999, the European City of Culture programme was renamed to European Capital of Culture. A new framework makes it possible for a city in a candidate country or