MARSEILLE, France (AP) ― A new flagship museum dedicated to Mediterranean civilization in Marseille is hoping to shake off the southern metropolis’ reputation as France’s deadliest city with a drastic cultural makeover.

The Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilizations, which was inaugurated by French President Francois Hollande on Tuesday, is the centerpiece of Marseille’s turn as the European Capital of Culture for 2013, which aims to attract 10 million visitors to the city this year.

Officials see it as a chance to transform the ravaged image of the metropolis, which was once a crossroad of Mediterranean civilization and bastion of the ancient Greeks, but is now considered one of Europe’s deadliest cities. 

Four decades of widespread poverty in Marseille saw the rise of a powerful mob scene, including a criminal underworld of drugs, prostitution and gambling. There were 24 fatal shootings in 2012 alone.

The violence, which has centered on territorial disputes between drug barons and involved Kalashnikov assault rifles in gang clashes, has fueled comparisons to the Italian Camorra stronghold of Naples. More recently, following investigations, a Socialist lawmaker representing Marseille in the national assembly was sentenced to prison for buying votes, a ruling she has appealed.

“We continue to present Marseille in national and foreign media just by crime, dirt, and letting itself go. ... We forget that Marseille has a beautiful history, contributing to the rich civilization of the Mediterranean,’’ said Bruno Suzzarelli, the museum’s director.

He said that the museum can help rebrand the city’s image.

Overlooking the glimmering Mediterranean Sea on the Marseille’s storied but disused pier, the museum is certainly an ambitious project. It is the first one in the world dedicated to the heritage of the Mediterranean basin, and France’s only stand-alone national museum outside of Paris. It includes an impressive square building with a dappled metal shell designed by architect Rudy Ricciotti.