Naples Archaeological Museum

We’re big museum fans in general, and can also spend hours in ruins that other people might consider just “another pile of rocks.” The Archaeological Museum, which we visited even before going to Pompeii or Herculaneum back in 2012, was the highlight of our time on Naples. We were staying in Sorrento, so visiting the museum and ancient sites from there.

Going to Pompeii afterwards helped put some pieces together, having already seen artifacts from this building or that building while in the museum. Since most of the artifacts that had been recovered at Pompeii are actually now on display in the museum, it will help complete what you’ve seen at Pompeii.

Edit: The room with “erotic” pottery and jewelry was unexpected, surprising, and memorable.

While in town, definitely have some actual Neapolitan pizza!

Thanks! Staying in Sorrento rather than Naples is a great idea! We loved both Pompeii and Herculaneum.

What did you see when you were in Naples before? If you hate it, then it certainly makes sense to stay in Sorrento if you will only be coming in for an afternoon to see the archaeological museum (which I also highly recommend--it's full of all the stuff removed from Pompeii!). But, there is more to see aside from the museum, so you might peruse a list and decide if you'll give it another shot. It also depends on how much time you have overall.

Perhaps due to renovation, this museum has done some lending lately. The NYU Institute for the Ancient World (NYC) has had two nice shows in the last 5 years. You could get closer to the work, in much better light, than in Naples

Most of the sculpture and frescoes you see IN Pompeii are replicas. (Except for the Villa of the Mysteries, which is often closed.) The real thing is in Naples.

The Farnese Marbles are almost as important, and should not be missed at this museum.

About a year before the pandemic we stayed in Sorrento and visited Herculaneum and then Pompeii. We then stayed in Naples for 2-3 nights before we flew home. I was reluctant to go through the Archeological Museum because I felt I had just done the huge tours of both sites - what would I get out of it? Well, was I ever wrong!!! In fact, it made Pompeii just come alive - there were all the mosaics and colors that were mostly missing in the sites - it was just amazing. In fact, I'm glad we went to the sites first then the museum and now that's what I recommend to anyone asking. Yes, that erotica room is quite the eye opener - but also quite the real part of the history.

We slotted in about 3 hours ...maybe 4? Just loved it.

Have fun!!!!

bean

Kind of curious about the Naples hate, as it doesn’t feel like you spent much time there. But fair enough, I imagine it’s not everyone’s cup of tea.

Is the museum worth it? Yes. There’s much talk about the Pompeii artifacts, and deservedly so. For me, the Farnese marbles are reason enough to visit. If these were two separate museums I’d tell you to go to both.