The Naples Aquarium sits inside the Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, a marine research institute founded in 1872 by German zoologist Anton Dohrn in the Villa Comunale park along Naples’ Riviera di Chiaia. Dohrn envisioned a year-round research station that could take advantage of the Bay of Naples’ unusually rich marine biodiversity, and the public aquarium opened its doors on January 26, 1874, just two years after the institute itself was established.
More than 150 years later, it remains the oldest continuously operating 19th-century aquarium still in activity. Its historic tanks are still fed directly from the bay through an underground seawater canal designed in the 1870s, showing off local Mediterranean habitats. But the aquarium isn’t limited to native species: large central tanks also recreate a tropical coral reef, a deliberate counterpoint meant to illustrate how warming seas are drawing “alien” tropical species, some arriving from the Red Sea, into the Mediterranean itself.
Stats at a Glance
- Location: Villa Comunale, Naples, Italy
- Opened: January 26, 1874 (institute founded 1872)
- Size: About 507 sq m, with roughly 180 cubic meters of water
- Species count: About 200 species, spanning Mediterranean habitats and a dedicated tropical coral-reef display
- Tanks: About 19 display tanks across 9 habitats, including a tropical coral-reef section
- Reopened: June 2021, after a major restoration
- Famous for: Oldest operating 19th-century aquarium, pairing historic Mediterranean tanks with a tropical coral-reef exhibit of non-native species
A Living 19th-Century Aquarium
Most of the Naples Aquarium’s tanks showcase animals and plants pulled from the Gulf of Naples itself, including local fish, mollusks, crustaceans, and corals, in habitats ranging from rocky coast to seagrass meadow. But a visit doesn’t stop at native species: after a major restoration, the aquarium reopened to the public in June 2021 and celebrated its 150th anniversary in January 2024, and alongside the historic Mediterranean tanks it now features large central tanks built around a tropical coral reef. Those tanks are populated with tropical and ‘alien’ species, some originally from the Red Sea, used to illustrate how the Mediterranean’s own marine life is shifting as waters warm.
More Than a Public Aquarium
The Stazione Zoologica was never just a tourist attraction. Anton Dohrn built it as an international research station where scientists from across Europe and the United States could rent lab space and study marine life firsthand; by the time Dohrn died in 1909, more than 2,200 researchers had worked there. That research mission continues today, with the public aquarium serving as the visible, accessible face of a working marine biology institute now formally named the Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn.
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Naples Aquarium (Anton Dohrn) FAQs
Is the Naples Aquarium the oldest in Italy?
Yes. It opened to the public in 1874, making it Italy’s first and oldest public aquarium.
What kinds of animals can visitors see there?
A mix of both. Most tanks hold species native to the Gulf of Naples, including local fish, mollusks, crustaceans, and corals, but the aquarium also includes large central tanks built around a tropical coral reef, home to tropical and ‘alien’ species (some arriving from the Red Sea) that illustrate how the Mediterranean itself is changing. In total there are around 200 species across roughly 19 tanks.
Is the aquarium still used for scientific research?
Yes. It’s housed within the Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, an active marine biology research institute founded in 1872, not just a tourist attraction.
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Photo: Unknown / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.