November 2021 – Tickets For Two Plus Baggage

National Archaeological Museum of Naples

If you are an archaeological nut and ever have enough time to spend in Naples, you must visit the National Archaeological Museum. It houses an impressive collection from ancient Naples, from its ancient Greek roots through its Roman and Sicilian Empire phases, to the present. It also has a fabulous collection of artifacts from Pompeii and the Roman Period. It is found on the interesection of Piazza Cavour and Via Enrico Pessina. At the time of this writing, it can no longer be gotten to by the Museum Metro Stop, which has been closed for some time, but rather from the Piazza Cavour Metro Stop and then a short walk along that street.

National Archaeological Museum – Main Entrance

The Ground or First Floor – Main Gallery

The main gallery on the ground floor has a unique and amazing collection of statues, mostly from the Roman Period, but there are also more ancient sculptures as well. It features in the back of the hall the Farnese Bull from Roman times.

National Archaeological Museum – Statue Hall – Bull – Farnese Collection – Largest Sculpture from Antiquity

There are also a few other examples from the Farnese Collection, including Hercules and others. This section is definitely worth a quiet, long walk through with plenty of reading and afterthought. Examination of any one of these magnificent works reveal detail that someone in today’s day and age would think otherwise superfluous, and yet it would not be the work it is today without that fine attention to detail.

National Archaeological Museum – Statue Hall – Architectural Elements

National Archaeological Museum – Statue Hall – Large Statues – Roman

National Archaeological Museum – Statue Hall – Women Busts

National Archaeological Museum – Statue Hall – Hercules – Farnese Collection

National Archaeological Museum – Statue Hall – Dionysus and Eros

National Archaeological Museum – Statue Hall – Mermaid

National Archaeological Museum – Statue Hall – Busts of Leaders

National Archaeological Museum – Statue Hall – Relief

National Archaeological Museum – Statue Hall – Trapezium Table Support – Villa Madama – Homeric myth of Scylla gripping Ulysses’s sailors

National Archaeological Museum – Statue Hall – Sarcophagus

National Archaeological Museum – Statue Hall – Large Statues

Leaving the main gallery and proceeding upstairs you pass the two dominant representations of Ocean or Oceanus, the god the ultimate river – the oceans. It is still not none precisely the etymology of this word and therefore it may not have any antecendents. However, one look at these two figures and you can tell that whomever this god represented, he was a very serious fellow, he had to be the dominate force for all water.

National Archaeological Museum – Statue Hall – Large Statue of Ocean holding a cornucopia – Entrance to Upstairs

National Archaeological Museum – Statue Hall – Entrance to Upstairs

National Archaeological Museum – Statue Hall – Large Statue of Ocean holding an Oar and a Sea Dragon – Entrance to Upstairs

The First Floor – The Mosaic Gallery

Here one can find all sorts of ancient mosaics, however most are from Pompeii. Made of paste and ceramic all are equisitely done in the form of a story to tell the onlooker.

National Archaeological Museum – Mosaic Hall – Mosaics made with Glass and Paste

National Archaeological Museum – Mosaic Hall – Numerous Household Examples

National Archaeological Museum – Mosaic Hall

National Archaeological Museum – Mosaic Hall – From Houses

National Archaeological Museum – Mosaic Hall – Leopard

The Third Floor – The Glass Gallery

Has a small, succinct, but very important collection of ancient glass made during the Pompeiien and Roman periods. Some have handwork and detail that cannot be rivaled today.

National Archaeological Museum – Glass Gallery

The Gallery of Pompeiien Erotica

No visit would be complete without a visit to the erotic gallery, where all manner of erotica are on display from the dead city of Pompeii. The Quakers and the Puritans would have had a field day in this city at its peak. Not only was prostitution flaunted as an everday fact in everyone’s face, but the public had personal art created for display and enjoyment in their own houses. Without much else to say the following is shown as a slideshow, feel free to opt-out if you are not up to the intellectual and spiritual challenge.

National Archaeological Museum – Erotic Art

National Archaeological Museum – Erotic Mythological Paintings

National Archaeological Museum – Erotic Art – Household Items From Pompeii

National Archaeological Museum – Erotic Art – House Doorbells From Pompeii

National Archaeological Museum – Erotic Art – Dish and Small Bronze

The Basement Floor – The Maritime Archaeological Gallery

All things maritime are located in the basement floor. A wide collection of maritime artifacts and archaeological specific display can be found in this section. There are also displays from the escavations of Pompeii having to do with the city itself, including is ancient public plumbing.

National Archaeological Museum – Maritime Hall – Old Signs

National Archaeological Museum – Maritime Hall – Ancient Trading Ports and Important Cities

National Archaeological Museum – Maritime Hall – Archaeological Map of Parthenope

National Archaeological Museum – Maritime Hall – Large Anchor

National Archaeological Museum – Maritime Hall – Old Lead Pipe

National Archaeological Museum – Maritime Hall – Reproduction of an Ancient Bark from Campania

Restaurants

Ristorante Demeter Ristotrattoria

A short fifteen minute walk away from the museum, down the Via Santa Maria di Costantinopoli, Via San Sebastiano and Via Santa Chiara (all the same street mind you), you will find Ristorante Demeter Ristotrattoria. Another exceptional place with homemade creations to tempt most palettes. We entered this restaurant just before it started raining and were not disappointed, a fine place to visit with nice staff that is definitely NOT a tourist trap.

Naples, San Guiseppe – Ristorante Demeter Ristotrattoria – Inside

Naples, San Guiseppe – Ristorante Demeter Ristotrattoria – Fried Eggplant in a tomato reduction with pesto

Naples, San Guiseppe – Ristorante Demeter Ristotrattoria – Lacryma Red

Naples, San Guiseppe – Ristorante Demeter Ristotrattoria – Pasta Norman

Naples, San Guiseppe – Ristorante Demeter Ristotrattoria – Pasta with Peppers and Taralli

Naples, San Guiseppe – Ristorante Demeter Ristotrattoria – Tart with Pecans

Naples, San Guiseppe – Ristorante Demeter Ristotrattoria – Chocolate Cake with powdered sugar

In the back of Piazza San Gaetano, alongside the tower, you will find the entry point to a very interesting treat, and a very historically important place for understanding Naples as a city, especially its age. Here you will find the La Neapolis Sotterrate, or the ancient underground marketplace.

La Neapolis Sotterrata – Internal Palazzo with well

The Ancient Neapolis was founded back in the fifth century BCE by the Greeks. Many of the artifacts and architecture of this place date back to this time. The market, or Macellum, was a two story structure that ran along underneath the current structure of the convent which now stands over top of it. Many of the streets in this area start with Vico and not Via, indicating the ancient Greek origins (all streets that start with this have a corresponding ancient road structure beneath them).

The entry fee is minimal and they have guided tours available in English. We found the tour very informative and important in trying to appreciate the age of city of Naples. Here is a slide show with what you will see if you have time to consider this historical adventure.