abc Travel: The Vasco da Gama Aquarium

The Vasco da Gama Aquarium is located in Dafundo, parish Cruz Quebrada - Dafundo, county Oeiras district of Lisbon in Portugal. This is a public aquarium.

Your project was conceived in the context of the celebrations of the "fourth centenary of the match of Vasco da Gama to discover the sea route to India," with the support of Charles I of Portugal, oceanography pioneer in the country.

The land on which it was built was donated by the Ministry of Public Works and the works under the responsibility of the Executive Room Sea Route Discovery Centennial Commission to India, they had the guidance of scientist Albert Girard.

It was inaugurated on May 20, 1898, in the presence of the sovereign and had exposed, in addition to species that would normally display, the zoological collections gathered during oceanographic campaigns that the monarch had undertaken aboard the royal yacht "Amelia".

Initially had only one floor, and you added one second around 1916, when it benefited from major renovations.

With the end of the celebrations, the Aquarium passed into the hands of the Portuguese State, which in turn gave its administration and operation to the Portuguese Geographical Society. For lack of resources, until 1901, the Aquarium was virtually no technical guidance, to deteriorate. From that date the Government handed it to the Ministry of the Navy, naming as Director a respected journalist, Armando Silva, who fed deep interest in the natural sciences.

Despite the efforts made for the recovery of Aquarius, Armando Silva of the relationship with the government has deteriorated, been replaced by another journalist, Francisco Machado Vieira. In 1908, the Portuguese Society of Natural Sciences, settled in Aquarius, with the direction of Professor Almeida Lima.

With five rooms, about 90 aquariums and tanks, a vast collection oceanographic the king, more than 300 living marine species and thousands of museum, aquarium registers an average of 70,000 visitors per year, a figure that contrasts with what was recorded in 1992 (218 thousand visitors).

Since 1901 the aquarium belongs to the Portuguese Navy, which has a budget of its budget for the maintenance of the equipment, with the remainder operating expenses covered by own revenues arising from the ticket office.

The Vasco da Gama Aquarium includes a museum piece, with the oceanographic collection D.Carlos king, and the aquarium, which has a show enlarged freshwater and saltwater species