Naples Archeology Museum Questions
 

Just wondering about the best way to see the museum. We are planning on hitting Pompeii first. Should I expect a long line on a Saturday if we arrive at the museum in the early afternoon? Also, what's the best way to see the museum? Is audioguide sufficient or should I look for an English-speaking tour? Does the "secret tour" still exist, and does it fill up quickly? Thanks for your help!

Hi as,

>Should I expect a long line on a Saturday if we arrive at the museum in the early afternoon? <

Nope.

>Is audioguide sufficient...<

Yup. It is not very large. We were able to see it all without a guide of any sort.

>Does the "secret tour" still exist...<

If you are referring to the erotica, you don't need a tour or a separate ticket. Be aware that most of the stuff is not from Pompeii. A good deal of it is fake.

((I))

Hi,Ira-
fake? Would you please elaborate?

Also,it's the Secret Cabinet (Gabineto Secreto) and I believe you do need to ask for a separate admission ticket with a timed entrance when you buy your admission. There's no extra charge,I believe,but you need the reservation time.

Hi diva,

When we were ther, we just walked into the Secret Cabinet.

This is the collection of Cardianl somebody or other. The didactic material indicates that a great deal of it is not from Pompeii, and that much of it relatively modern work made to look as if it is from antiquity.

((I))

ira- without a guide, how did you know what you were looking at? are the items identified in English? Thanks for the info!

Hi as,

>how did you know what you were looking at? are the items identified in English?

The Farnese Bull looks like the Farnese bull. :)

Everything is labelled in Italian. However, it's not too difficult to get the gist.

((I))

You're smart to see Pompeii first, then the museum. We did it the other way around last Thurs. & Friday.

We had the museum to ourselves when we arrived at 9:00 am (opening time), but then the tour groups started streaming in and by 10/10:30 it was getting crowded. I bet they'd be filtering out by early afternoon. But it's a very large building which doesn't house all that much, so I wouldn't worry too much about the crowds.

We didn't get any sort of ticket or reservation for The Secret Room, but rather just walked up to the doorway, peered in, and were ushered inside almost immediately by the attendant.

The audioguide would be good to have, although we got along fine without it. But you might want one as very little is labeled or described in English.

Good luck and have fun!

The "Gabinetto Segreto" is sort of a typical Italian bureaucracy thing, I think. They tell you at the ticket desk at the museum that you need a ticket for a set time to go in (free with regular admission). But as others have said, once we actually got to that part of the museum, nobody ever asked us for a ticket, and we went in at a time earlier than what was stamped on our ticket with no problem. In fact, when we went in, the room was supposed to be closed for the lunch hour, but the door was open, and nobody seemed to care about checking tickets.

Ira, I don't recall anything indicating that this collection was not authentic. The guidebook we got at the museum said that this was a collection of explicit erotica from Pompeii and Herculaneum which had been suppressed for many years and only recently made available to the public.

I'm surprised to hear that the secret room is not authentic. I read about it when it reopened, then visited in 2002 with an English language Italian guide. My impression is that it was authentic and well presented.

Hi guys,

Since it has been some time since we were there, I can only quote from my trip report,
"We learned from the didactic material in the erotic section that this was the collection of a Cardinal of the Catholic Church, and that most of it is Egyptian, except for the stuff that is fake".

I shall look for further material supporting or diproving this statement.

((I))

Here is a link to a story in The Economist when the room first reopened. It appears to support the authenticity of the collection:
http://www.economist.com/displayStor...tory_ID=332310

We went to the Archeology Museum last Friday afternoon. Most of the galleries were closed and we did not go in because so little was open. Unfortunately I did not ask why most of it was closed and how long this would persist. I would check with the museum.

If you are looking for a good place to eat near the Museum, may I suggest Lombardi's? It is located off Via Foria on the south side of the street almost opposite the Cavor Metro Station.

My wife and I had an wonderful lunch there on a Sunday, recently. It was full of locals. The bathrooms were spotless, the service excellent, and their prices were very reasonable.

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Michael'nA2

Some of the collection is travelling in the US at the present, including the exquisite fresco painting
of "Primavera" and "Diana". Other treasures from the Villas are also on display. Other parts of the collection may be on tour as well.

I was SO disappointed not to see Primavera when we visited two summers ago. Nobody told me where they were, just said "not on display." Then last summer we were in DC, and imagine my surprise when there was a huge banner hanging from the Museum of Natural History with the fresco on it. And there it was, in a nicely done exhibit.

The Naples museum is such a disappointment. It has an incredible collection of real treasures, but the displays keep changing, they close wings without notice or seeming reason. You can't get any information about things you might want to see.

And the gift shop has practically nothing to buy. And it's in Naples - a dreadful dirty city.

But I was still glad that we went; it was worth it just to see the mosaic of Alexander defeating Darius--what an incredible piece of art. The bright colors of the mosaic columns give you a different perspective of what a Roman house looked like; not all white columns and white togas like we popularly see associated with them.

You can buy an interesting book in the gift shop in Pompeii about the erotic art found in Pompeii and vicinity. The Romans had decidedly different values concerning sexual activity than most of us do today.

When we were there on a Saturday afternoon the place was almost deserted.