A long, narrow public garden running along the Chiaia waterfront for about 1.5 km, established by the Bourbon kings in the eighteenth century and opened to the public in 1888. The Villa Comunale has fountains, statues, and a small zoological station on the seafront — the Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, founded in 1872 by German naturalist Anton Dohrn and still an active marine biology research institute.
The garden is at its best in the early evening when Neapolitans come out to walk, run, and sit. The view from the railings across the bay to Vesuvius is one of the most famous in Italy, though the city's habit of parking vehicles on the pavement directly in front of the railings somewhat diminishes it.