The welcome reception will be held at the Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn (www.szn.it), a Public Research Institution, among the most influential research Institutions in the field of marine biology and ecology. The Stazione Zoologica was founded in 1872 by Anton Dohrn. Dohrn was a fervent defender of Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection, and decided to devote his life to collecting facts and ideas in support of Darwinism: this represented the beginning of a lifelong adventure. His project was to cover the globe with a network of biological research stations, similar to train stations, where scientists could stop, collect material, make observations and conduct experiments, before moving to the next station. Dohrn decided that Naples would be the ideal place for “his” station. He also thought that ticket sales from opening a public aquarium would generate enough revenue to pay for a permanent assistant for the laboratories.

The public aquarium, which covers an area of 527 m², was opened on the 26^th of January 1874, and it remains a unique example, because it has changed very little since its creation, and it is the oldest aquarium built in the 19^th century and still working, exclusively dedicated to the fauna and flora of the Mediterranean Sea.