Top of the World
Among the various monuments of the French city, mention should be made of the Vieille Charité, which is a grand architectural complex aimed at "containing" the city's beggars and poor. It was 1640 when the city council made the irrevocable decision to create a clean and welcoming structure in which the destitute of Marseille could be "interned." La Vieille Charité is an admirable example of civil architecture, in pure French Baroque: built in 1640 and throughout history it was also used as a barracks, left to decay, and finally restored and saved from abandonment thanks to the intervention of Le Corbusier. The building is one of the most beautiful architectural complexes in Europe and consists of four wings of 3-story buildings facing an inner rectangular courtyard where the chapel is located. In a peaceful and quiet setting that leaves out the hustle and bustle of the city are the Museum of African, Oceanic and Amerindian Arts (M.A.A.O.A), the International Poetry Center of Marseilles (C.I.P.M), the Cinémathèque Le Miroir, the Museum of Mediterranean Archaeology, and several rooms for temporary exhibitions.
