Acquario Civico: A Liberty Jewel in Parco Sempione, and Almost Free
The only building left standing from the 1906 World's Fair, a small Liberty-style palace decorated with ceramic sea creatures, holding the third-oldest public aquarium in Europe. The Acquario Civico is one of the least-visited and best-value places in central Milan, and from Taylor's Love Solferino B&B it is a fifteen-minute walk.
Acquario Civico, Milan. Photo: Yorick39, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Getting There from Our B&B
On foot: approximately 1.2 km, about 15 minutes from Via Solferino 56, through Brera and into Parco Sempione from the Castello side.
By metro: from Moscova (M2 green line), 300 metres away, one stop to Lanza, then five minutes through the park.
The Last Building of the 1906 Expo
Milan hosted the 1906 World's Fair to celebrate the opening of the Simplon Tunnel, and filled Parco Sempione with pavilions. They were all temporary except this one, designed by Sebastiano Locati, which the city decided to keep.
It opened as an aquarium the same year, making it the third oldest in Europe after Naples and Trieste. It was damaged in the 1943 bombing and restored afterwards.
The building is as much the point as the fish: a fine example of Italian Liberty, its facade covered in ceramic reliefs of fish, molluscs and sea plants by Chini, with a statue of Neptune above the entrance.
What to See
- The facade – free to admire from the park. The ceramic decoration is the finest Liberty work in this part of Milan.
- Italian freshwater habitats – the specialism: Alpine streams, lowland rivers, the lagoon. Less exotic than a big commercial aquarium, more genuinely informative.
- The Mediterranean tanks – including a reconstructed rocky coastline.
- The tropical section – small, with coral reef species.
- The library – a specialist hydrobiology collection, open to the public.
Practical Information
- Admission: around 5 euro – one of the cheapest tickets in Milan. Free on some occasions.
- Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday, roughly 09:00 to 17:30. Closed Mondays.
- Time needed: about an hour. It is small – set expectations accordingly.
- With children: ideal as an hour inside during a longer day in the park.
- Booking ahead: not needed.
Part of a Parco Sempione Day
The aquarium sits between the Arena Civica and the Castello Sforzesco, with the Torre Branca and the Triennale a few minutes away. It works best as one stop among several rather than as a destination in itself.
Why Staying in Brera Makes the Difference
Taylor's Love Solferino B&B is at Via Solferino 56 in Zone 1, the historic centre, between Brera, Moscova and Corso Garibaldi. Small, cheap, hour-long places are exactly what you can fit in when you are staying a fifteen-minute walk away.
For travellers who prefer a short stay apartment in Milan centre to a hotel, the B&B offers free self check-in with a smart lock. Porta Garibaldi FS, 700 metres away, connects directly to Malpensa Airport with the Malpensa Express.