The Civico Acquario Marino (Civic Marine Aquarium) is housed in part of the old fish market, the Pescheria, an Art Nouveau building of 1913 by the architect Giorgio Polli. The extensive space of the central hall once saw the sale of local, freshly-caught fish from a series of open stalls, but this has now been converted into the splendid exhibition area of the Salone degli Incanti. The clock-tower on the left-hand side once also held a tank of fresh sea-water which was then fed to the fish stalls, although it was adapted when the building was first converted into an aquarium in 1933. A massive central tank was built, where today swim sharks and rays, and there are 25 tanks of variable capacity which recreate different marine habitats and host mainly Adriatic species such as coelenterates, annelids, moluscs, echinoderms and crustaceans. Vertebrates are mainly represented by sea fish, fresh-water fish and tropical fish, by reptiles and amphibians housed between the vivarium on the first floor, the pool with frogs, the special areas with vipers, fresh-water snakes, salamanders and toads which can be touched.

Point of interest
In 1953, the crew of the ship Africa donated a South African penguin to the city. Later named 'Marco', he became the symbol of the aquarium, where he wandered around freely for 31 years, winning the hearts of children and adults alike.