Lomography

"The Panier" Oldest District of Marseille, France
written by azurblue on July 6th, 2009 , 4 submissions , 3 comments (4 votes)

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The Panier of Marseille est the oldest district of the city, and the site of the original settlement of the town. Marseille was founded by the Greeks two thousand six hundred years ago. The Panier is right next to the Vieux Port. It is one of the oldest districts with a High proportion of immigrants. It became a working class district during the 17th century, when the middle class decided to move out to relocate in the new districts to the east.

It was the fishermen and armature district. In the 19th century, it attracted Neapolitan, then the Corsican after the First World war. The Nazis dynamited a large part of it in February 1943. Today, the Panier is still a cultural mosaic of people from Magreb, Comoro islands and even Vietnamese people. It’s vibrant and cosmopolitan. It has been rehabilitated recently, and now it becomes a district up to date. It is very agreeable to stroll though the streets. The jewel of the Panier is the Vieille Charité, first designed as a hospice for the homeless, now a beautiful museum hosting exhibitions.