Messina Aquarium

The Messina Aquarium is the only scientific facility of its kind in Southern Italy alongside the Naples Aquarium. It was built inside Villa Mazzini in the early 1960s by the Thalassographic Institute of Messina, thanks to a special funding granted by the Sicily Region. In 1986, it was loaned to the Municipality of Messina, which managed it until the establishment of CeSPOM. The facility houses about 70 different species of fish, mollusks, crustaceans, and reptiles from the Mediterranean, accommodated in 22 tanks with capacities ranging from 2,500 to 18,000 liters of water, supplied via an open circuit with seawater taken directly from the Strait of Messina.