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National Archaeological Museum in Naples
Guided Tour
We begin our tour experience with authorized guides by meeting at the metro stop entitled "Museo" from which we will walk to a building that dates back to the end of '500.
In the past this palace was the headquarters of the University, now houses the MANN, the National Archaeological Museum of Naples.
MANN is considered one of the most important museums in the world for the richness of its collections.
Visiting Naples with our guided tours is drawing on many stories that have left a mark on the history of the city.
With this excursion we want to take you to the ancient heart of Naples, Southern Italy.
When was the MANN museum born?
It was established in the eighteenth century by the will of King Charles III of Bourbon and his son Ferdinand IV to house the statues of the rich Farnese Collection from Rome and to collect all the royal collections of art and antiques until then stored into the villa of Capodimonte and the royal palace in Portici.
Many of the findings in the museum came from the explorations of the cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii buried by the eruption of 79 AD, which was discovered in the middle of the eighteenth century by the Bourbon excavations. At this link you can see more about our guided tours in Pompeii.
Over time the collections have been enriched with finds found in other sites of Campania and southern Italy.
Visiting the rooms you will be fascinated by the beauty of the ancient art masterpieces.
At the entrance of the Museum there is a colossal statue of Ferdinand IV of Bourbon created by Antonio Canova using the white marble of Carrara and located in the center of the monumental staircase.
The lobby of the museum in the ordinary time is generally crowded with visitors.
The Farnese Collection
We could start the visit to the museum from the rooms on the ground floor where the statues of the rich Farnese Collection are on display, the busts of Roman emperors and statues of gods.
In the large room we find the most famous statues: the colossal statue of Hercules at rest and the Farnese Bull, also called the 'marble mountain', because it is made from a single gigantic block.
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| The Farnese Hercules at the MANN museum in Naples |
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| The Farnese Bull at the MANN museum in Naples |
The Egyptian Collection
Did you know that the Egyptian collection at the MANN museum is, by importance, in third place after that of the Egyptian Museum of Cairo and the Egyptian Museum of Turin?
Inside the MANN museum, at the first floor, are exposed the materials of the Temple of Iside too, found by archaeological excavations of Pompeii, an Egyptian deity among the most famous of antiquity, whose discovery fueled interest in ancient Egypt by the European culture of the late 18th century, a real egyptomania.
Did you know that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart drew inspiration for the composition of the opera "The Magic Flute”? 😊
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| The Ushabti, funerary statues that the Egyptians placed in the tombs |
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| The Sarcophagus from the Egyptian collection at the MANN |
Frames of life from 2000 years ago
Going up the monumental staircase you reach the mezzanine floor and the first floor of the museum where is very impressive the refinement and the sense of beauty that comes from the past: statues, vases, everyday objects in glass, silver, bronze and even wood, give us fragments of life from 2000 years ago.
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| The silver cup with olive branches from the House of the Menander of Pompeii |
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| The mosaic with tragic mask from the House of the Faun of Pompeii |
The finds of Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabia
The domus - the ancient houses of the Roman cities - of Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabia, were decorated with frescoes of bright colors - as a particular shade of red called precisely "Pompeian red" - and mosaics that constituted precious stone carpets such as the great mosaic by Alexander the Great found in the House of the Faun of Pompeii.
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| The mosaic by Alexander the Great, the Battle of Issus from Pompeii |
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| Details of the Mosaic by Alexander the Great from Pompeii |
One of the most curious sections is the "Secret Gabinetto" which displays erotic objects and frescoes from Pompeii and Herculaneum.
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| Painting from the Secret Gabinetto at MANN museum in Naples |
The theme of sexuality in the ancient world is represented by statues, lamps and objects in the shape of phallus, vases with red figures or black figures with erotic scenes and paintings that came from the lupanari, the whorehouse of the ancient world.
The representation of sexual symbols does not always allude to sexual activity; the male symbol, in fact, in the past had the function of amulet, which protected from harm: it is a symbol that brings wealth, prosperity and abundance.
An entire room of the museum is occupied by a large model of Pompeii (scale 1:100), which portrays the ancient Roman city in all its small details.
The Villa of the Papyri from Herculaneum
An area of the MANN museum in Naples is dedicated to the Villa of the Papyri, a wonderful residence located outside the ancient city of Herculaneum, in a position overlooking the sea with a spectacular view of the Gulf of Naples.
Its name is linked to the discovery of a library with 1800 charred papyri, some of which are still readable. Inside the villa were found the beautiful marble and bronze statues exhibited in the museum.
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| Wrestlers or Runners from the Villa of the Papyri from Hercolaneum at MANN |
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| The Danaids from the Villa of the Papyri from Hercolaneum at MANN |
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| The Satyr from the Villa of the Papyri from Hercolaneum at MANN |
Did you know that the plan of the villa was used by Jean Paul Getty to build his house in Malibu as a faithful copy of the beautiful Villa of the Papyri from Hercolaneum, and now converted into a museum?
The deposits of the museum
You will be surprised to learn that the masterpieces on display are only a part of the entire MANN collection. The museum’s deposits contain tens of thousands of pieces that cannot be exhibited for reasons of space and repetitiveness.
The Rione Sanità quarter in Naples
The museum is located in the center of Naples, close to the Rione Sanità , a popular folk district characterized by baroque architecture, churches and stunning buildings such as that of Spagnuolo and Sanfelice palaces.
In the Sanità district you can visit the birthplace of Totò, a famous Neapolitan actor from 60's, the Catacombs of San Gennaro, the Catacombs of San Gaudioso and the Fontanelle Cemetery.
The Rione Sanità is included in our guided tours provided with authorized guides in the city of Naples.
If you are interested we could organize for you a customized excursion in the Sanità district 😉
After seeing the masterpieces of the MANN Museum you will probably get a bit hungry 😊
Do you know that just a few steps from the MANN museum, in the heart of the Sanità district there is a bakery born in 1920 that produces traditional Neapolitan cakes and that invented a cake that became famous called Fiocco di Neve?
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| Fiocco di Neve sweet from Poppella in Naples Sanità district |
At the end of our guided tour we would like to enjoy this extraordinary cake together and then say goodbye only after we have taken you to the metro station.
Let’s stay in touch :)
Our guided tours give you the opportunity to live the tourist experience without hassle (we buy the tickets for you, we walk together safely in the town, etc) to save time and optimize your travel.
Please feel free to contact us at my@best-time-italy.com, we will be happy to help you in case you desire to take part in our customized guided tours in the city of Naples or are looking for inspiration to plan your next travel experiences to Italy.
Some links for you:
- Mann Museum
- Jean Paul Getty house faithful copy of the Villa of the Papyri from Hercolaneum in Malibu
- Poppella bakery at Sanità district in Naples
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