The National Archaeological Museum of Naples is among the oldest and most important in the world for its richness and uniqueness of its heritage and for its contribution to the European cultural panorama.
The origin and formation of the collections are linked to the figure of Charles III of Bourbon, on the throne of the Kingdom of Naples since 1734, and to his cultural policy: the king promoted the exploration of the Vesuvian cities buried by the eruption of 79 A.D. (begun in 1738 in Herculaneum, in 1748 in Pompeii) and oversaw the construction of a Farnesian Museum in the city, transferring part of the rich collection inherited from her mother Elisabetta Farnese from the residences of Rome and Parma.
The project of bringing together in the current building, built at the end of 1500 with the destination of horseback riding and from 1616 until 1777 the seat of the University, is due to his son Ferdinand IV, the two nuclei of the Farnese Collection and the collection of Vesuvian finds already € exhibited in the Herculaneum Museum inside the Royal Palace of Portici.
From 1777 the building underwent a long phase of renovation and extension projects, entrusted to the architects F. Fuga and P. Schiantarelli. In the decade of French domination (1806-1815) the first preparations were made and with the return of the Bourbons to Naples in 1816 it assumed the name of Real Bourbon Museum.
Conceived as a universal museum, it housed institutes and laboratories (the Royal Library, the Academy of Design, the Officina dei Papiri ...), which were later transferred to other locations in 1957.
The collections of the Museum, which became National in 1860, have been enriched with the acquisition of finds from excavations in the sites of Campania and Southern Italy and from private collecting.
The transfer of the Pinacoteca to Capodimonte in 1957 determines its current appearance as an Archaeological Museum.
Timetables and fares
Closed on Tuesday. When Tuesday coincides with a public holiday, the Museum is closed on Wednesday.
On the occasion of the All Saints' Day, the Museum will remain open on November 1st and will be closed on Wednesday November 2nd 2016.
Closed on December 25th and January 1st
The ticket office closes half an hour earlier.
INFO
Individuals, groups, schools: 848 800 288
+ 39 06 399 67 050 (from mobile phones and from abroad)
MANN - National Archaeological Museum of Naples
Address: Piazza Museo Nazionale,19 Napoli
Phone: 081 4422149 - 081 4422273
Site:
http://www.museoarcheologiconapoli.it/it/Location inserted by
Annalisa Giordano