Naples

The National Archaelogical Museum

The National Archaeological Museum in Naples houses a very large and varied collection of works from the Classical civilization, particularly of the Roman period. With its many art masterpieces, house furnishings and pieces of all kinds it enables the visitor to get an almost complete picture of the different aspects of man's life and activities in that period.

Among the various collections which at different times have been acquired by the Museum, one of the most important is the Farnese collection. Created at the beginning of the XVI century by Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, who was successively elected Pope with the nome of Paul III, and continuously increased by his heirs and relatives, the collection eventually passed into the property of Charles of Bourbon, king of Naples, the son of Elisabeth Farnese and fast descendant of the family, and later was turned from the estate of the reigning dynasty into state property.

From the very beginning it was considered one of the major collections of works of art from the ancient world, made up of donations, bequests and, mostly, acquisitions of sculptures deriving from casual discoveries or specific search made in the city of Rome. After various events, the collection was eventually displayed in the Museum building where it is kept nowadays.
Another relevante contribution to the Naples Museum, and under many aspects a peculiar one, derived from the excavations of the cities buried by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 A.D. , mainly Herculaneum and Pompeii.

It was a sudden catastrophe which buried the cities under a layer of volcanic material, so that buildings, art works and often also remains of organic material have been miraculously preserved underground much better than on any other archaeological site, where gradual abandonment destruction have deprived us of most documents of its culture.

Other remarkable contributions to the formation of the Naples Museum derived from theexcavations which look place in the course of the fast two centuries in ancient Campania and adjacent areas, such as Cumae, Puteoli, Baiae, Naples, Capua, Teanum, together with donations, purchased material and loans. Particularly worthy of mention are the collection of Count Borgia di Velletri acquired in 1817, the Stevens Collection, with finds from Cumae, and the Santangelo Collection with its Greek and Roman coin collections.