It's from
one quay side to the other, looking once towards
the open sea and once towards the Canebière that
the city reveals itself. Then, at last you understand
that you have to let yourself be carried away by its streets
and its hills. .
Here there are certain times of the day
when we like this sensation, standing half-way between
the light and the sea. Any Marseillais will tell you that
it's our way of reaffirming why we live here and not elsewhere
You cannot begin to understand Marseille
if you are indifferent to its light. It is tangible, even
at its most scorching, when you are forced to lower your
eyes.
Marseille is a city of light
You can love Marseille only when you
arrive by sea, in the early hours of the morning, as the
sun rises suddenly behind the Marseilleveyre range, setting
light to its hills and painting the old stones pink once
more.
When you wander round the Panier, the
district the Germans dreamed of razing to the ground,
you can feel the old heart of Marseille beating. This
heart speaks all the languages of the world, the languages
of exile.
At that moment, you will discover the sea and
the bay. Vast, beautiful, without doubt the most
beautiful after Naples. And then you will understand why
Cézanne wore out his eyes painting l'Estaque
Jean
Claude Izzo (extrait de l'anthologie "Méditerranées")
