The National Architectural Museum of Naples

by Rosanna Cappelli, Annalisa Lo Monco

Genres: Archaeology

138 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I visited the Naples Archaeological Museum (note correct name of the facility) in January and picked up this guidebook on my way out.

I'm glad I did, because an entire wing of the museum was closed the day we were there, and this book covers some of the ground I couldn't. It also gives excellent insight to the works I was able to see in person, with additional information about provenance, artists and influence.

It is not a typical exhibit catalog, with every single thing listed and explained; it's more of an overview of the museum as a complete entity. I found it extremely helpful in refreshing my memory.

[Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this guidebook up from the Naples Archaeological Museum in 2017 and only now, on the even of a new trip in March, sat down to read it. It is a very good guidebook, not only giving the highlights of the collection, but also giving some history and context to how the collection was put together from various Renaissance antiquities collections and more recent excavations. It gives a good sense of the context of the museum.

The layout is pretty much as the Museum is laid out, of course. There is so much in the museum that it can't feature everything in every room, but includes the best known elements. It not only explains context for pieces, but also how they found their way into the collection, which is really useful for me as a teacher.

This is well worth picking up and reading, even after a visit. Oh, and visit the museum itself. If you're interested in Pompeii and Herculaneum ,much of the best known artistic works can be found here. And if you're interested in Renaissance collecting, this collection has an interesting history.