National Archeological Museum

Museum Exterior

On arriving back at the Naples train station, we reversed our course from earlier in the day and boarded the Metro headed back toward Piazza Dante and our hotel. But finding ourselves somewhat recharged from lunch and the relative inactivity of the train ride, we decided to visit the National Archeological Museum (Museo Archeologico Nazionale), found next to the Museo Metro stop. Again we showed our ArteCards, thereby using up the last of the free admissions to which we were entitled, and we started wandering around.

The National Archeological Museum has an extensive collection of artifacts found throughout Italy, though there is probably a particular focus on pieces found in Pompeii and Herculaneum (mostly mosaics and frescoes). The museum provides the dual services of making the artifacts more easily accessible and of protecting the ones found outdoors from the elements and from feral creatures (mainly the human ones). In many cases, reproductions are displayed in the places the artifacts came from. Here is a sampling of the things we found on display:

First, some sculptures –

A Bas-Relief	Woman with Instrument
Bust of River God	Nella with Busts
Woman Holding Flowers	Man Holding Ashtray
The Farnese Hercules	The Farnese Bull
Large Guy with Cloak	Woman with Animals on Her Head

Mosaics, mostly from Pompeii –

Fighting Chickens	Musicians
Complaining Women	Rehearsal of a Satirical Play
Marine Animals	Portrait of a Pompeiian Woman
Ducks	Cat with Birds and Fish
Dionysus as a Boy	The Battle of Alexander

Frescoes, mainly found inside houses in Pompeii and Herculaneum –

Couple with Cherubs	Portrait of Couple
Portraits, etc.	Misc. Scenes
Portraits	Woman on Bull with Friends

And a few other objects –

Fortuna, Pompeii	Blue Vase, Pompeii
Egyptian Statue of Isis	Tablet with Hieroglyphics

There was also a large scale model of Pompeii that was created in the 19^th Century. It hasn’t changed much since then.

Scale Model	Model Overview
Model with Forum	Scale Model HD Video (19.1 MB) SD Video (6.4 MB)

Around the middle of the building there was an immense room, called the Meridian Room. Its construction was started early in the 17^th Century, but it was repaired and renovated and updated until well into the 20^th Century. It was once used as a library, but the books have been moved. It is undoubtedly used for a variety of purposes now.

Philip in Meridian Room	Ceiling Fresco
Corner of Room	Nella in Meridian Room HD Video (17.1 MB) SD Video (4.8 MB)

To exit the museum, we needed to pass through a courtyard with some more sculpture. In one of the side rooms, a woman was singing (rather well) in front of an audience seated in stackable chairs.

Italian Songstress
Italian Songstress
HD Video (15.6 MB) SD Video (2.9 MB)

On another side of the courtyard we found a collection of elaborate sarcophagi.

Sarcophagus

Sarcophagi
HD Video (20.1 MB) SD Video (5.1 MB)

The museum was actually within walking distance of our hotel, being one Metro stop before Piazza Dante, so we walked back to the hotel and didn’t move much for many hours.

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