Naples Archaeological Museum, the history
The Naples Archaeological Museum was built in 1585 by order of the Spanish viceroy, don Pedro Giron, by the architect Giovanni Vincenzo Casale. The structure was transformed, between 1610 and 1615, by the architect Giulio Cesare Fontana, in order to transfer the Studies (ancient University) there. The initial project, which provided for the construction of a building characterized by a central body with two floors, elevated compared to the two lateral wings with a single level, was not completed as only the western wing and the central body were finished.
The façade of the National Archaeological Museum of Naples, richly decorated, featured an alternation of windows and niches, interrupted only by the main door and the two secondary side doors. The windows, with variously ornamented frames, were topped by marble vases placed on the pediments and by medallions with half busts, while in the niches there were ancient statues with modern additions. The cornice of the building was completed by a marble balustrade with vases and pinnacles. The central body was also topped by statues on the sides of the pediment, and by vases and obelisks flanking a small arched structure with the clock bell. The Neapolitan Academy remained in the building for over a century and a half until its transfer to the Royal Boarding School of the Savior in 1777.
At the end of the eighteenth century, the architects Ferdinando Fuga, first, and Pompeo Schiantarelli, later, prepared to enlarge the old Palace of Studies to convert it into a universal Museum, according to the encyclopedic cultural model then in vogue: «for the use of the Royal Museum of Portici, the Art Gallery of Capodimonte, the Great Public Library, the Schools for the three Fine Arts (Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture), and the Room for the study of the Nude». During these years, the Palace lost almost all its sculptural decorations and, raised by one floor, assumed the more compact and imposing appearance that still characterizes it today.
Archaeological Museum of Naples and Fine Arts Schools
The workshops for the Fine Arts Schools were located in the rooms of the eastern wing of the first floor arranged around the large Sundial Hall, so called because of the presence of a sundial installed there when the room was originally intended as an Astronomical Observatory. The hall, frescoed by Pietro Bardellino with a commemorative epigraph and an allegorical scene dedicated to Ferdinando IV together with his wife Maria Carolina as protectors of sciences and arts, as well as, on the walls, eighteen canvases by Giovan Battista Draghi with historical subjects, was later transformed into a Library. Between 1821 and 1825 the architect Pietro Bianchi, after completing the restoration works, finished the building by enlarging the northeastern corner, also taking care of placing the statue of Ferdinando I of Bourbon depicted in the guise of Minerva, executed by Antonio Canova, in a niche specially designed in the middle of the monumental staircase of the Museum. The first setup of the Royal Bourbon Museum, undertaken by Michele Arditi in 1807, could be considered completed in 1830 according to the criteria of the time, typological and by classes of materials, with the addition of other acquisitions by donation or purchase and from finds coming from excavations carried out in the territories of the Kingdom of Naples.
The Archaeological Museum of Naples after the Unification of Italy
In 1860, with the Unification of Italy, the Royal Bourbon Museum became state property, taking the new name of “National Museum”. Between 1863 and 1875, in addition to enriching itself with the remarkable Santangelo collection, it was completely reorganized by Giuseppe Fiorelli, according to a typological criterion. The new reorganization carried out by Ettore Pais between 1901 and 1904 was followed by arrangements of individual collections, made possible also by the availability of new spaces created by the transfers, in 1925, of the Library to the Royal Palace of Naples and, in 1957, of the Picture Gallery to the current Capodimonte Museum. Thus, only the rich collections of antiquities remained on this site, so the Museum began to take on its current identity as an Archaeological Museum. Source: MIBACT
The museum building is also the headquarters of the Special Superintendence for Archaeological Heritage of Naples and Pompeii.
Information about the National Archaeological Museum of Naples
Opening hours
The Archaeological Museum of Naples is open every day, except Tuesday, from 9:00 AM to 7:30 PM. It is closed on January 1st, May 1st, and December 25th for holidays.
Entrance ticket price
Full: 6.50 euros;
Reduced: 3.50;
Free admission for all those over 65 or under 18 years old.
Discounts for school groups and groups.
Where the Archaeological Museum of Naples is located
Piazza Museo Nazionale, 19
80135 Naples
Tel: +39.081.4422149 (Museum information point)
+39.081.4422111 (switchboard)
E-mail: man-na@beniculturali.it
