APPEAL
The Mediterranean has always been the cradle of civilisations for the whole of Europe, and when we defend the concept of two separate and opposing sides we simply ignore the millenary history at our peril. The Mediterranean has given birth to languages, religions, philosophical systems and scientific disciplines which have nurtured the civilisations developed in the region over the course of history. It has represented the privileged space where the cultures of the peoples of the Near East, North Africa and Southern Europe could make contact, mix and amalgamate. It is indeed the cradle of the first urban societies in the East, the Greco-Roman, Judeo-Christian and Muslim civilizations, of enlightening periods such as the Renaissance, and where cosmopolitan cities like Alexandria, Tangier, Venice, Constantinople/Istanbul, Thessaloniki and Dubrovnik were born. The Mediterranean is a crossroads, where for millennia everything has merged, enriching it: people, animals, goods, ships, ideas, religions, lifestyles, and even plants.
