The Mediterranean is much more than a geographical region. It is the birthplace of great civilisations, a bridge between the East and the West, and the epicentre of major geopolitical movements of recent times. Over the centuries, as its boundaries have continued to evolve, it has developed multiple new identities and complex systems, remaining a crossroads for territories, cultures, religions and multiple life forms. 

So much of our knowledge of the Mediterranean – its material archaeology, cultural legacy and ecosystems – has been shaped by historical tales, politics and popular culture. The Library of Land and Sea is an educational space that invites visitors to rethink the concept of the Mediterranean through interrogating our relationship with land and sea. It contains a collection of research projects by designers and thinkers who are mapping and building new tools and reflections for social, economic and environmental resilience in the region.

Driven by care and activism, these research projects use design in an imaginative way to investigate territories and our relationship with soil and water. In doing so, they reveal hidden narratives and networks of food production.