The Stele “Massalia” in honor of the twin city Marseille will be opened in Odesa in 2013.This sculpture will be the gift from Marseille to Odesa. A few years ago, the French architect Michel Perloff, with the support of the French Cultural Centre Alliance Française, proposed to establish a symbolic stele “Massalia”. The name of composition is the old Greek name of Marseille. According to the architect, this sculptural composition will be a symbol of the same origin of the twin cities.

The negotiations began in 2012. Now the preproject works are fulfilled. According to the vice-mayor of Odesa on Humanitarian Affairs Elena Pavlova, the sculptural composition “Massalia” will be established on the 40th Anniversary of twin cities relations between Odesa and Marseille.

“All parties unanimously agreed the new monument should be established on Marselskaya Street on the corner of Dobrovolskogo Avenue. The basis of the monument will be a unique fresco made of colored glass, decorated with mosaics and in the form of letters of lovers. This fresco made in Italy, Marseilles gives Odesa. In return we undertake the improvement of the territory”, Elena Pavlova noted.

As previously reported, in the framework of the celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the establishment of the twin cities relations between Odesa and Marseille a series of significant events are planned. Such as the opening of the permanent exhibition in Marseille “Ways of Odesa” at the Museum of Civilization in Europe and the Mediterranean, the Days of Odesa in Marseille and Marseille Days in Odesa, the organization of cultural events, as well as students exchange.