Aquarium
Naples was originally named by the Greeks after the Mermaid Parthenope (who slew herself after being rejected by Odysseus, at least in the poet Virgil’s version), so it's only fitting that the city should have established one of Europe's first public aquariums in 1874. Founded by the German scientist Anton Dohrn and housed in a Stile Liberty building designed by Adolf von Hildebrandt, the aquarium quickly became the wonder of Naples for children and art-exhausted adults. At the time—when, not so incidentally, the public imagination was being stirred by Jules Verne’s Captain Nemo and Hans Christian Andersen’s Little Mermaid—technological innovations made it possible to funnel seawater directly from the bay into the aquarium.
Officially named the Stazione Zoologica, the aquarium reopened in 2021 after a major six-year overhaul. Tanks still showcase marine life from the Bay of Naples, as well as tropical fish, but the complex now also includes the Museo Darwin-Dohrn (Da-DoM), a few steps away in the leafy Villa Comunale. The highlight is the skeleton of a sperm whale, which washed up in Ischia in 2018, in a room opening up to the bay. Guided tours are available.
