Before tackling the collection, consider investing in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples (€12), published by Electa; if you want to concentrate on the highlights, audioguides (€5) are available in English. It’s also worth calling ahead to ensure that the galleries you want to see are open, as staff shortages often mean that sections of the museum close for part of the day.
The basement houses the Borgia collection of Egyptian relics and epigraphs (closed indefinitely on our last visit). The ground-floor Farnese collection of colossal Greek and Roman sculptures features the Toro Farnese and a muscle-bound Ercole (Hercules). Sculpted in the early 3rd century AD and noted in the writings of Pliny, the Toro Farnese, probably a Roman copy of a Greek original, depicts the humiliating death of Dirce, Queen of Thebes. Carved from a single colossal block of marble, the sculpture was discovered in 1545 near the Baths of Caracalla in Rome and was restored by Michelangelo, before eventually being shipped to Naples in 1787. Ercole was discovered in the same Roman excavations, albeit without his legs. When they turned up at a later dig, the Bourbons had them fitted
If you’re short on time, take in both these masterpieces before heading straight to the mezzanine floor, home to an exquisite collection of mosaics, mostly from Pompeii. Of the series taken from the Casa del Fauno, it is La battaglia di Alessandro contro Dario (The Battle of Alexander against Darius) that really stands out. The best-known depiction of Alexander the Great, the 20-sq-metre mosaic was probably made by Alexandrian craftsmen working in Italy around the end of the 2nd century BC
Beyond the mosaics, the Gabinetto Segreto (Secret Chamber) contains a small but much-studied collection of ancient erotica. Pan is caught in the act with a nanny goat in the collection’s most famous piece – a small and surprisingly sophisticated statue taken from the Villa dei Papiri in Herculaneum. You'll also find a series of nine paintings depicting erotic positions – a menu for brothel patrons
Originally the royal library, the enormous Sala Meridiana (Great Hall of the Sundial) on the 1st floor is home to the Farnese Atlante, a statue of Atlas carrying a globe on his shoulders, as well as various paintings from the Farnese collection. Look up and you’ll find Pietro Bardellino’s riotously colourful 1781 fresco depicting the (short-lived) triumph of Ferdinand IV of Bourbon and Marie Caroline of Austria in Rome
The rest of the 1st floor is largely devoted to fascinating discoveries from Pompeii, Herculaneum, Boscoreale, Stabiae and Cuma. Among them are whimsical wall frescoes from the Villa di Agrippa Postumus and the Casa di Meleagro, extraordinary bronzes from the Villa dei Papiri, as well as ceramics, glassware, engraved coppers and Greek funerary vases
0 التعليقات:
إرسال تعليق