Marseille


:''Marseilles redirects here. There is also Marseilles, Illinois.'' Marseille. Marseille (English Marseilles (now rarely used), Provençal Marsilha) is the second largest city in France. Located in the former province of Provence and on the Mediterranean sea, it is France's largest commercial port. It has a population of 807,071 (1999 census), and 1,516,340 for the wider Marseille-Aix-en-Provence metropolitan area (in French: aire urbaine). Marseille is the capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur région, as well as the préfecture (capital) of the Bouches-du-Rhône département.

History

Marseille was founded in 600 BC by Greeks as a trading port. It was overrun by Celts and then conquered by the Romans. During the Roman times, it was called Massilia.

Highlights

Culture

The French rap band IAM is from Marseille. The most widely circulated tarot deck comes from Marseille; it is called the Tarot de Marseille, and was used to play the local variant of tarocchi before it came to the notice of people who used it in cartomancy. The French national anthem "La Marseillaise" is named for Marseille.

Miscellaneous

The metro is rubber-tired. The city's main football club is Olympique de Marseille, Champions League winner in 1993 but tainted by the 1990s match-fixing scandal by then-owner Bernard Tapie. Marseille was the birthplace of:

See also

Category:Coastal cities ca:Marsella da:Marseille de:Marseille es:Marsella eo:Marsejlo fr:Marseille it:Marsiglia la:Massilia nl:Marseille ja:マルセイユ pl:Marsylia pt:Marselha ro:Marsilia fi:Marseille sv:Marseille Category:Communes of Bouches-du-Rhône

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