Discover the world's finest collection of mosaics at the Bardo Museum

The history of the Bardo (and not Bardot like Brigitte) began even before it opened. The museum is housed in the former flats of the Palace of the Beys of Tunis. A masterpiece of 19th century Husseinite architecture, the Bardo began its career under the French protectorate in 1885, taking on the role of museum of national antiquities. In 1888, it became the Musée Alaoui. It was not until 1956 that it was given the name it is known for today throughout the world. Derived from the Spanish Prado, Bardo is simply the name of the district of Tunis where many Andalusian Muslims fleeing the Reconquista settled.

This jewel resembling the Alhambra palace is also the former residence of the Turkish royal family. It took four years to renovate and extend the museum, which quite simply houses the world's largest collection of mosaics! Today, in addition to the two historic buildings, a brand new building was opened in 2012 to celebrate the museum's reopening in style. Doubling the museum's surface area, it features six new departments devoted to prehistory, the Punic period, the Numidian civilisation, the Mahdia underwater treasure, late antiquity and Islam.

Although the Bardo has evolved over the years, it still religiously preserves the vestiges of its illustrious past that have made it a historic monument. Sadly, the Bardo Museum was the victim of a terrible attack on 18 March 2015, killing 22 people, including 20 tourists, to whom a plaque pays tribute.

The great thing about the Bardo Museum is that not only do you get to admire the world's largest and most beautiful collection of mosaics, but you also get to see a historic monument, a sumptuous palace with noble spaces decorated in beautifully carved stucco. It's also an opportunity to marvel at the zellige mosaic tiles, the Qallaline ceramic panels and painted gilded wood, and the beautiful original ceilings - all in addition to the works on display in the original buildings!

The collections cover prehistory and the Phoenician, Punic, Numidian, Roman, Christian and Arab-Islamic eras. The historical part of the museum is devoted to the Roman period, and features the world's largest collection of mosaics, the centrepiece of which is The Triumph of Neptune, a monumental work from the 2nd century, located at the entrance to the museum. It is the largest mosaic discovered in Tunisia, measuring 140 m²! Originating in Sousse, it was found in the house of a wealthy family in the 3rd century A.D. It features Neptune (Poseidon to the Greeks), the god of the sea, on his chariot with his trident, pulled by sea horses, surrounded by seahorses, mermaids (winged, not with fish tails) and other naiads.

Other highlights of the museum include the four-lobed baptistery at Kélibia, mosaics depicting Diana, the goddess of the hunt, or Ulysses chained to the mast of his ship to resist the sirens' song, and above all a superb mosaic from the 3rd century AD, found intact in the Sousse region in 1888. It depicts the poet Virgil, accompanied by Calliope (the muse of poetry and eloquence) and Clio (the muse of history). This is the Mona Lisa of the Bardo! It corresponds to the heyday of Roman mosaics, from the 1st to the 4th century, after which the technique became less refined.

In June 1907, sponge fishermen discovered the wreck of a Greek merchant ship that had run aground in a storm in the 1st century BC. It lay at a depth of around forty metres, 5 km off the coast of Mahdia. A treasure trove of marble and bronze pieces, sculptures, statuettes and furniture, as well as numerous works of art, were discovered. Most of the finds are on display at the Bardo Museum, and a small part at the Mahdia Museum.