CdD's Naples '08 presents...
Il Museo Archeologico Nazionale

I'd only ever seen this fresco from Pompeii in books.
What a thrill to be able to see it up close.
The Museo Archeologico Nazionale lived up to its reputation as a kick ass museum of antiquities, I found.

There is much more to come: I took over 500 pictures that morning.
I haven't even digested them all, but there is some very interesting stuff in there
including the "Camera Segreta" (Secret Room) showing old Roman pornography. See below.

Mosaics

Actors

Actors with masks.

Memento mori?

?

Roman pantry.

Actor's Mask

Animals known to the Romans

A Roman woman
looking very much like a modern.

A Roman dog on a leash!
This was part of a floor.

Statues
Coming Soon

I have some great stuff in this category.

Busts

Men. Bronzes from the Villa dei Papiri.
There is no artificial lighting in the museum's rooms in the daytime except in display cases.
All these pictures were captured without flash and nearly all using only the Neapolitan sunlight streaming in through
the window/door things they use there.

Women in marble.

Objects
Coming Soon

Jewelry

Gold snake jewelry.

Frescos
Coming Soon

Really interesting portraits of Romans and Roman life bridging the millennia.

Paintings

?
These were positively gigantic-sized paintings in a rather dark room without explanations.
Obviously they are not Roman, but from a later period depicting classical subject matter.

Possibly Cerberus and a soothing harp player?

Raah! Man hurling a stone.

No Papa! I love him.

Old Roman "Porn"

Coitus
A bit blurry I know. It was pretty dark in there, despite it being the only room with artificial light.

Squeeze

A well hung fresco.

Children having sex.
Unlike us, the Romans found the sexually taboo amusing.
Scenes like this and those above would be found in dining rooms to amuse guests.

The Museum Itself

The museum's entrance.

Foyer

Wind dial?

The dial in context.

A very impressive and grandiose room.

Ceiling detail

People reveal the scale of the room.

Much More to Come

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Copyright 2008 by Dino Cardone