Museo do Mar de Galicia

The Museo do Mar de Galicia in Vigo is a cultural and scientific center dedicated to the ocean and maritime history. Opened in 2002 at Punta do Muíño in the parish of Alcabre, the museum is run jointly by the Galician cultural authority, the Vigo Free Trade Zone Consortium, and the city administration. The architecture of the complex, designed by César Portela and the late Pritzker Prize winner Aldo Rossi, takes its cue from the structure of a former cannery. The ensemble consists of a main building, an annex connected by a glass bridge, an aquarium, and a restaurant. The bridge offers views of the hill of Alcabre and the Ría de Vigo. The building enjoys an international reputation and received the Philippe Rotthier Prize for Architecture in 2005.

In the main building, along with the reception desk and a shop, you'll find several permanent exhibitions. These include a cabinet area for natural scientists, rooms devoted to oceanographic research, and galleries with photographs of lighthouses and the port area. The hallways display historical objects such as old diving suits, model boats, and a submarine built in Vigo in 1898. The upper floor of the annex houses large themed sections on traditional seafaring, the canning and whaling industries, and sardine and tuna fishing. The ground floor is home to the underwater archaeology department, which serves as a repository for finds from the Galician coast and documents humanity's relationship with the sea from prehistory to the present.

The aquarium, which showcases the marine fauna of the Ría de Vigo and the Cíes Islands, is a particular highlight. There you can see sea bass, sea bream, spiny lobsters, rays, and seahorses, among other species. The museum also offers a broad cultural program, with workshops for schools and families as well as special events such as fish feedings. Past highlights included the free exhibition of the Pergamino Vindel, which was on loan from the Morgan Library in New York. The museum also coordinates the Salinae archaeological center, which explains the remains of a Roman salt works and its historical significance within the Roman Empire.