The Speleology Museum is located in a gallery in the centre of Trieste, built during the Second World War as an air-raid shelter, with environmental characteristics similar to those in the natural Karst caves. The Speleovivarium of Trieste hosts live animals and plants coming from the Karst in Trieste and Gorizia, as well as paleontological, mineral fossil findings, speleological equipment and a large collection of documents and findings concerning the artificial hypogeal environments. The protagonist of the museum is the Proteus, the only vertebrate of European fauna that lives exclusively in underground waters, in the area stretching from the Karst in Trieste and Gorizia to Slovenia and right to the Mouths of Cattaro. Because of the pollution, the Proteus is an animal at risk of extinction: the Speleovivarium has been created, in fact, to raise it in captivity. The Speleology Museum is also equipped with an exhibition hall and screening and educational rooms.