An attraction, a symbol of Trieste. This was Marco, the penguin who believed himself to be human, and humans erroneously believed him to be a penguin. Marco lived in the Aquarium of Trieste from 1953 to 1985: 32 years, a record for a penguin. Almost thirty years after his death his memory lives on for the Triestini of many generations.
\nThere isn\u2019t a kid who didn\u2019t meet Marco at least once while he was \u201creceiving\u201d guests in a tank in the Aquarium \u2013 built especially for him – but more often than not along the seafront where he would awkwardly cross the rail tracks on which the \u201ccagoia\u201d was lazily running, a nickname given to the train that a few times a day would transport goods from the central station to Campo Marzio.<\/p>\n
Marco was always accompanied by his friends, the guardians, and his every whim was always satisfied and forgiven, even when he would peck a kid who was too eager to touch him. Marco would behave like a celebrity: if there was a juicy compensation (especially sardoni) he would flap his wings on command and whenever there was a camera in sight, he would strike a pose. The penguin arrived from South Africa on board the motor ship Europa . Many legends tell the story of his arrival.<\/p>\n
This book, which was initially published in 2005, unravels a novel one: Marco was kidnapped. Either way, Marco has given us a real fairytale full of poignant sentiment and sympathy. And in the end of his placid existence, the old penguin was able to surprise us…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
An attraction, a symbol of Trieste. This was Marco, the penguin who believed himself to be human, and humans erroneously believed him to be a penguin. Marco lived in the Aquarium of Trieste from 1953 to 1985: 32 years, a record for a penguin. Almost thirty years after his death his memory lives on for …<\/p>\n