A traveler named Connie paused long enough in Naples to dash off a breezy note from the Caffè della Calabria — "having a nice time so far" — before this handsome card of the Stazione Zoologica made its way across the Atlantic to a Miss D. on South Street in Buffalo, New York. Founded in 1872 by German scientist Anton Dohrn, the Naples Zoological Station was the world's first permanent marine biology research institute, and its elegant neo-Renaissance aquarium building — shown here framed by lush subtropical plantings in the Villa Comunale park — attracted scientists from every corner of the globe. The undivided-back era postmark of 5 AM from Napoli Ferrovia (the railway post office) pins this mailing to circa 1906, a moment when Naples was still the primary embarkation point for millions of emigrants bound for America, lending the card an evocative transatlantic poignancy.