After finishing our tour of Puglia, we decide to remain is Napoli (pop 908,082 in 2025) for a few extra days. Unfortunately, the wet weather follows us from the east coast to the west – or north coast to south as Italy is 'cut on a bias'. Our hotel is near the Piazza del Gesù Nuovo, and we begin our introduction to the city from there.
Being so close, we are immediately drawn to the Guglia dell'Immacolata (Giuseppe Genoino, 17th-18th centuries), a telescoping Baroque pedestal capped with a copper-clad statue of the Vergine. The Guglia stands in front of the Chiesa del Gesù Nuovo (15th-18th centuries) with its facade of beveled ashlars – very reminiscent (for us) of the Casa dos Bicos in Lisboa. The surface, proportions, and siting of the Chiesa in the corner of the Piazza are all unusual, especially the abrupt 'chopped off' look at the top.
We take the Via Benedetto Croce east and the Guglia di San Domenico (Francesco Antonio Picchiati & Domenico Antonio Vaccaro, 1656-1737). Strangely, the Piazza San Domenico Maggiore is at the back of the Basilica di San Domenico Maggiore (13th-14th centuries). The city deserves its reputation as dark and gritty, though that is not necessarily a bad thing. After the overly 'restored' look of Bari and Lecce, Napoli feels casual and authentic – no room in front? put the piazza in the back.
After a stop for pizza (of course!), we make our way north to the Museu Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli (16th-19th centuries) to view the affreschi and mosaici from Pompeii. We hope the forecast clears in a day or two so we might go to the real archeological site, but that is not looking likely. So, we 'settle' for an afternoon in the Museu.
We walk into the teeth of the afternoon rush, with emergency vehicles, honking horns and hand gestures. Napoli has an honest look and an honest attitude. Even inside the Museu, we can hear the chaos of rush-hour as we stroll through galleries featuring the art of "Campania Romana".
Life-sized marble and bronze statues fill the floors, while smaller frescos line the walls with scenes of local living – like walking the streets and squares in an ancient Roman town.
We cross the central Atrio and head up the grand staircase to see the mosaici. From the Atrio, we grasp the vast scale of the Museu. We will not be able to see the whole thing in one afternoon, so we focus on our favorites.
The galleries to one side of the stairs carry the title "Mosaici e Casa del Fauno". The smaller courtyard of the Casa stands in one of the larger rooms. The mosaics are playful and personal, befitting a private residence, and include allegorical pieces like the "Le Tre Grazie" (1st century) as well as lively animals (dogs, fighting roosters, and a panther).
The "Colonne a Mosaico" (2nd-1st century BC) are full of pattern and color. Thankfully, we may walk around all sides of the colonne to see how the cores are constructed and layered with bricks and mortar.
Built into one wall is the "Nicchia di Ninfeo", which is from the Casa dello Scheletro (Ercolano), with false vault ribs. "Poseidone e Anfitrite su Carri Nuziali" (on wedding chariots, 1st century BC) is on the opposite wall.
The mosaics in the next room offer more thoughtful considerations. "L'Accademia di Platone" (early 1st Century BC) surrounds the contemplative scholars with masks, leaves, and fruit wrapped with ribbons.
From the floor of a banquet hall in Pompei, the "Momento Mori" (1st century), suspends a large skull (death) in a plumb bob above a butterfly (soul) and a wagon wheel (fortune). The trappings of the rich are on the left (crown, purple robe), while the rags of the poor are on the right.
Another from Pompei, the "Musici Ambulanti" (2nd-1st century BC) includes a small painted study of the mosaic. The folds folds in the clothes and the sharp shadows are rendered with clarity and drama.
"Ritratto Femminile" ("Matrona Pompeiana", top image, 1st century) holds an expression of meditative melancholy, as compelling and personal as any painted portrait.
Regrettably, the large floor mosaic of "La Battaglia tra Dario e Alessandro" (120-100 BC) is closed, but on the positive, we can watch the conservators restoring the display.
The Salone della Meridiana (sundial hall) sits above the Atrio and is named for the long meridiana that runs from the southwestern corner to the center – though we are too late to see it in action. A group of cleaners is working on the statues under the vault, including the two "Corridori" who seem to be 'chasing the sun'.
The ceiling (1781) is by Pietro Bardellino and celebrates the virtues of King Ferdinand IV of Bourbon and Queen Maria Carolina, patrons of the arts.
The affreschi are in the southeastern galleries and carry similar themes to the mosaici with a similar palette. "Artimide e Callisto" and "Vendita di Amorini" (both Pompei, 45-79) certainly reflect these qualities. But fresco painting offers these artists opportunities for more technically demanding work, as shown in the rough underdrawing, "Sinopia da Oplontis"
A series of panels titled "Scenografia Teatrale" (45-62) show the use of perspectival depth and complex architectural construction. Other large pieces show how bright wall surfaces are broken with a dark wainscot, and with patterned "Pastiche" (Ercolano) border elements.
Helmets are on display in the central case, but also in a neighboring fresco, as if to clarify the imagery.
"Corte Ellenistica da Boscoreale" (Villa di Publius Fannius Synistor, 60-50 BC) and "Architettura con Porta e Maschere" (Villa di Publius Fannius Synistor) take the theatrical and architectural themes to an even higher level.
These examples show how the frescos break down the walls to expand the room – like the way todays' designers use mirrors: there is a theatrical scene beyond the door, and a temple with a pavilion in a distant courtyard.
An area facing the main gallery brings this together by recreating "La Stanza Rosso" from the Villa di Agrippa Postumo. This features three large landscape frescos on separate walls connected by a system of delightful borders and framing devices along with a black wainscot.
The display is missing a ceiling and floor, but the walls provide 'enclosure' and we feel what it's like to be enveloped by these colors. It is easy to get a sense of an intimate room with 'fictional openings' and earthy red wall surfaces, like an upscale art gallery.
The affreschi is the last rooms relate specific mythologies. The images of "Strage dei Niobidi" (62-79) show a large spiraling column and the slaughter of Niobe's children as a warning against hubris. The oversized figures of "Dioniso e Satiro" and "Zeus" (62-79) show the trappings of the gods.
Another set of frescos adds layers of relief to the affreschi, increasing the incredible perspectival depth. However, these are displayed far above eye level. Perhaps that's the way there were found in situ, but this also allows the museum lights to play on the surfaces.
Finally, the "Rissa nell’Anfiteatro" (Pompei, Casa di Actius Anicetus, 59-79) captures an aerial image of a battle between the Pompeiani and the Nucerini in the year 59. In the fresco we see the riots inside the amphitheater, outside, and all around the city walls. Pompei's amphitheater is faithfully illustrated, with the large staircase, the summa cavea, and the velarium. The rectangular structure on the right is the palestra with its internal swimming pool. In the foreground, the stalls of street vendors and a few saplings complete the square.
As the chorus of sirens and car horns blares outside, the Roman historian Tacitus describes the events in the painting and elucidates the character of these ancient people:
… dapprima si scambiarono ingiurie con l’insolenza propria dei provinciali, poi passarono alle sassate, alla fine ricorsero alle armi, prevalendo i cittadini di Pompei, presso i quali si dava lo spettacolo. Furono perciò riportati a casa molti nocerini con il corpo mutilato per ferite, e in quella città parecchi fra i cittadini piansero la morte di figli e di genitori … Il principe affidò l’inchiesta sugli incidenti al senato e il senato ai consoli. Poi, quando la faccenda ritornò al senato, ai pompeiani furono vietate per dieci anni simili riunioni e vennero sciolte le associazioni costituitesi in modo illegale. A Livineio e a quanti avevano provocato i disordini fu comminato l’esilio.[… at first they exchanged insults with the insolence of the provincials, then they moved on to stoning, in the end they resorted to arms, with the citizens of Pompeii, where the spectacle was given, prevailing. Many Nocerans were therefore brought home with their bodies mutilated by wounds, and in that city many of the citizens mourned the death of their children and parents … The prince entrusted the investigation into the incidents to the senate and the senate to the consuls. Then, when the matter returned to the Senate, the Pompeians were banned from such meetings for ten years and the associations formed illegally were dissolved. Livineius and those who had caused the riots were exiled.] (Tacito, "Annales", XIV, 17 – quoted from "Rissa nell'anfiteatro", MANN, 2022; trans by Google)
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