This aquarium is the largest aquarium in Italy and one of the largest in Europe. The Genoa Aquarium is part of a huge waterfront entertainment center that could take days to fully explore. Built in 1992 to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the voyage of city-dweller Christopher Columbus, the aquarium focuses on providing information on marine animals of all kinds, and showing them in largely natural environments. The Biosphere, a stunning steel and glass globe structure designed by the first Italian architect Renzo Piano, contains a tropical garden. In the park there are exhibits that tell about these fragile and endangered ecosystems.