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2h
Deutsch, English, Espanol, Francais, Italiano
1-20 people
State Museum
Suitable for children
Suitable for couples
Pets allowed
Parking available
Barrier-free
Language supports
Among the most important museums in the world and among the richest Italian museum institutions on display, stands out without a shadow of a doubt, the National Archaeological Museum of Naples, the MANN. The building covers an exhibition area of no less than 12650 m², housing archaeological collections and artifacts ranging from prehistoric to late Roman times, enriched also, by the collections belonging to the most high-ranking noble families, as well as Pompeian collections and that of theancient Egypt.
The National Archaeological Museum of Naples is the richest museum institution in the city whose exhibition is housed in one of the most interesting Neapolitan monumental buildings that stands, among other things, on the ancient necropolis of the Greek city of Neapolis. It is a prestigious building that, with its richness, pleasantly fascinates and surprises its visitors.
It is really a very interesting place that lends itself well to both a visit with friends and a pleasant family day out where, thanks to the signs and display boards, young and old can learn a lot about their own history and the more distant past.
The National Archaeological Museum in Naples, houses numerous and very interesting collections organized and displayed in various sections inside and one outside the building.
Underneath the museum building is the necropolis of the Greek city of Neapolis, which coincides with the Museo metro station. Access to this section is free. It houses all the archaeological finds unearthed during the excavation works of Line 1, which are really numerous and very interesting.
There are prehistoric traces of cultivated land during the 4th millennium B.C., perfectly preserved thanks to a Phlegraean volcanic eruption that preserved the remains intact under a thick blanket of volcanic ash.
From pottery and artifacts from the Greek era, architectural remains from the Roman period such as capitals, columns, and sculptures, vestiges of fortifications, and the remains of a fountain from the Byzantine era, to artifacts dating back to Spanish rule.
The actual entrance to the building is on the Ground Floor where various collections are displayed.
The Farnese Collection, which houses archaeological artifacts of Alessandro Farnese, future Pope Paul III. He collected gems, portraits and sculptures dating from the 16th century onward.
The collection is displayed in rooms and galleries 1 through 29, arranged around the eastern courtyard on the first floor. Here it is possible to observe a labrum (large ornamental basin from Roman times), of red porphyry located in the center of the courtyard.
Another collection is the Pompeian collection. Arranged around the western courtyard, it includes Pompeian casts but also sculptures from not only the Vesuvian cities, such as the Roman reproduction of the Doriforus which was found in Pompeii itself, but also works that come from the Phlegraean area and the ancient city of Capua.
From the ground floor, to the right of the main staircase, one can access the Basement. Here we find the Egyptian Collection, belonging to one of the oldest European collections came to us thanks to the interest that the Borgia family, its first and legitimate owner, had in Ancient Egypt. To it belong statues and objects of funerary and magical-religious character. Also enriching this section is the collection of the Picchianti family, a Venetian traveler who collected during his trips to Egypt numerous funerary artifacts such as: mummies, canopic jars, sarcophagi, mirrors, sandals, and cosmetic vases. He sold his findings to the British Museum and to the National Archaeological Museum in Naples. To the collection of the Farnese family, however, belonged a naophorus (type of Egyptian sculpture) that represents the oldest artifact in the Egyptian collection.
Another collection in the basement is the epigraphic collection, which consists of a collection of about 2,000 writings in Greek, Latin and Italic dialects that were part of collections of different families including the Farnese family inherited by Charles of Bourbon and the Borgia family, purchased instead by Joachim Murat.
Going up to the Ground Floor through the main staircase, before climbing up to the First Floor, one finds oneself in another part of the Museum, the Mezzanine Floor. Here the exhibits of no less than three other exhibition sections continue.
I Mosaics - House of the Faun, a section located to the left of the main staircase. This is an exhibition of beautiful mosaics; on the one hand, those from Pompeii and Herculaneum are collected, housed in rooms 57 to 59 and 64; on the other hand, mosaics specifically from the House of the Faun in Pompeii and an original bronze sculpture from the Dancing Faun.
The exhibition sections do not end there! There is also that of the so-called Secret Cabinet. At the end of the Mosaics section, in rooms 62 and 65, is this particular section, named after the Bourbon family to which it belonged. It is an exhibition of objects of an erotic nature from the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum.
On the right side of the staircase, on the mezzanine floor, however, is the section Numismatics which, following a strict chronological order, exhibits coins dating from the period of Magne Grecia, up to that of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.
Accessing the First Floor, climbing the Museum's main staircase in its entirety, we finally reach four more exhibition sections.
The first section is the Sundial Hall, once called the Grand Salon, a huge 17th-century hall with huge French doors. Along the walls of the hall are 19th-century pompier-style paintings and canvases by the Genoese painter Draghi.
In the second section we find the Pompeian collection. From the Sundial Hall, one enters the various spaces that house the objects in the collection. Here, in the galleries and halls of the eastern courtyard on the second floor, numerous exhibits such as ivories, glass, frescoes, pottery, silverware, artifacts from the Temple of Isis, and a model of Pompeii depicting the ancient Roman city in all its details are displayed.
Then there is the Topographical sector of ancient Naples, a chronological tour of objects dating back to the ancient civilizations of the Etruscans and Italics in Campania and Magna Graecia.
Further on you can visit the Topographic Sector of Pithekoussai- Prehistory and Protohistory, a chronological path that goes from Prehistory and runs through the Aeneolithic, Bronze, Iron Ages, Cumae, Pithecusae (ancient name for the island of Ischia), Neapolis, to the findings of the Villa of the Papyri.
Inside the building of the National Archaeological Museum of Naples, there are also two gardens that are developed in the two courtyards on either side of the main entrance: the eastern and western courtyards, respectively. In particular, in the eastern one, a typical Roman-era garden has been reconstructed with the pergola, vines, roses and sculptures.
Files, drawings, volumes, manuscripts related to the museum and specialized journals on archaeology, numismatics and any other volumes and publications related to the Museum are stored in these spaces.
Another key area even though visitors are not allowed access to it is the storage rooms inside the building. Numerous pieces of various venus and works of art are placed here, awaiting restoration.
Exhibitions and events, organized within the National Archaeological Museum of Naples, are listed on the museum's website. Photography of exhibits for private use is permitted, without flash, tripods and telescopic poles. Professional photos must be authorized by Museum management. All architectural barriers that might limit the ability of visitors with mobility disabilities to move independently have been eliminated in the Museum. Ramps and elevators therefore allow full and free use of the museum spaces for all visitors.
Wheelchairs and tablets with LIS videoguide available at the info point.
Tactile itineraries and workshops for the blind and visually impaired by reservation by the Museum's specialized reception and enhancement staff.
Thanks to King Charles III of Bourbon, we can visit today the magnificent collections housed and exhibited within the Museum. In fact, the king promoted the exploration of the Vesuvian cities buried by the eruption of 79 A.D. and wanted the creation of a Farnesian Museum in the city, where he could transfer part of the rich collection inherited from his mother Elisabeth Farnese.
In fact, the building already existed around 1500 as a cavalry barracks. It was later named and redeveloped as the Palazzo degli Studi, the seat of the University until 1777, when King Ferdinand IV of Bourbon combined the two nuclei of the Farnese Collection and the Vesuvian artifact collection within the palace.
From 1777 the building underwent a long phase of renovations and expansion projects, entrusted to architects F. Fuga and P. Schiantarelli, and in 1816 it assumed the name of the Royal Bourbon Museum. Conceived as a universal museum, it initially housed, institutes and workshops (such as the Royal Library, the Academy of Drawing, the Papyrus Workshop, etc...), which were later transferred to other locations.
The collections of the museum, which became National in 1860, were later enriched by the acquisition of artifacts from excavations in Campania and the South and from the collections of noble families.
With Movery you always have a digital assistant at your side. Before booking we are at your disposal to clarify any doubts, after booking we will send you all the partner's information with which you can define the last little details. Don't worry until the experience is completed (and even during) our assistant will be there to resolve any unforeseen issues and clarify any doubts.
