Naples Aquarium
Nineteenth-century Mediterranean aquarium fed by an underground seawater channel from the gulf.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to the Naples Aquarium follows the pipe beneath your feet down to the harbor, tracing the same route of real seawater the tanks have used since the aquarium opened, and asks how it got built in the first place. It centers on Anton Dohrn, a young German zoologist who talked the city into free land, built the tanks with his own savings, and then had to invent ways to keep the laboratory upstairs afloat. You'll hear about the research benches he rented to visiting scientists and the export trade in pickled specimens he ran on the side to cover the bills. Every creature in the tank beside you has a place in that same ledger.
This audio guide was created using AI.
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