Naples & Campania - Southern Italy - page 79

the galleries you want to see are open, as staff shortages often mean that sections of the
museum close for part of the day.
While the basement houses the Borgia collection of Egyptian relics and epigraphs, the
ground-floor Farnese collection of colossal Greek and Roman sculptures includes the Toro
Farnese (Farnese Bull) in Room XVI and the muscle-bound Ercole (Hercules) in Room
XI. Sculpted in the early 3rd century AD and noted in the writings of Pliny, the Toro
Farnese , probably a Roman copy of a Greek original, depicts the humiliating death of
Dirce, Queen of Thebes. Carved from a single colossal block of marble, the sculpture was
discovered in 1545 near the Baths of Caracalla in Rome and was restored by Michelan-
gelo, before eventually being shipped to Naples in 1787 . Ercole was discovered in the
same Roman excavations, albeit without his legs. When they turned up at a later dig, the
Bourbons had them fitted.
If you're short on time, take in both these masterpieces before heading straight to the
mezzanine floor, home to an exquisite collection of mosaics , mostly from Pompeii. Of the
series taken from the Casa del Fauno, it is La battaglia di Alessandro contro Dario (The
Battle of Alexander against Darius) in Room LXI that stands out. The best-known depic-
tion of Alexander the Great, the 20-sq-metre mosaic was probably made by Alexandrian
craftsmen working in Italy around the end of the 2nd century BC.
Beyond the mosaics, the Gabinetto Segreto (Secret Chamber) contains a small but much-
studied collection of ancient erotica. Guarding the entrance is a marble statue of a
lascivious-looking Pan draped over a very coy Daphne. Pan is then caught in the act, this
time with a nanny goat, in the collection's most famous piece - a small and surprisingly
sophisticated statue taken from the Villa dei Papiri in Herculaneum. There is also a series
of nine paintings depicting erotic positions - a menu of sorts for brothel clients.
Originally the royal library, the enormous Sala Meridiana (Great Hall of the Sundial) on
the 1st floor is home to the Farnese Atlante, a statue of Atlas carrying a globe on his
shoulders, as well as various paintings from the Farnese collection. Look up and you'll
find Pietro Bardellino's riotously colourful 1781 fresco depicting the Triumph of Ferdin-
and IV of Bourbon and Marie Caroline of Austria.
The rest of the 1st floor is largely devoted to fascinating discoveries from Pompeii,
Herculaneum, Boscoreale, Stabiae and Cuma. Among them are vivid wall frescoes from the
Villa di Agrippa Postumus and the Casa di Meleagro, as well as ceramics, glassware, en-
graved coppers and Greek funerary vases.

BASILICA

Complesso Monumentale di San Lorenzo Maggiore