Four years after the opening of the Gallery of the Mediterranean, whose initial configuration welcomed some 1,750,000 visitors, the Mucem has completely redone the second section with the installation of an unprecedented presentation on the cities of the Mediterranean and their interconnections. 

This exhibition, intended for last several years, aims to create a dialogue between the Mediterranean cities of the 16th and 17th centuries and the megacities and metropolises of today. In doing so, it enables the public to understand the major challenges facing today’s Mediterranean basin. 

Spanning 1,150 m2, more than 350 works are presented, coming from both the collections of the Mucem and the great European museums with which partnerships have been established. 

Indeed, the Mediterranean of the 16th and 17th centuries emerged as a true historical and geographical tipping point.

Offering visitors a leap back in time, this urban history is also examined in its current dimensions through contemporary megacities and metropolises such as Marseille, Casablanca, Istanbul, and even Cairo. One of the original features of this presentation is that it allows visitors to choose their itinerary within the period spanning the 16th to 21th centuries, to go forward or backward in time, or even to go from the Istanbul of the past to the megacity that it is today.