What Vesuvius sealed, the MANN keeps: Naples' National Archaeological Museum received the frescoes, mosaics and bronzes lifted from Pompeii and Herculaneum by the Bourbon excavations, together with the colossal marbles of the Farnese collection. The result is one of the world's most important collections of classical art, inside a vast sixteenth-century palazzo steps from the old centre.
What to see
The Battle of Issus mosaic, Alexander charging Darius — a million and a half tesserae from the House of the Faun; the Farnese Hercules and Bull, the most colossal sculpture to survive antiquity; the Pompeian frescoes with the celebrated "Sappho"; the Secret Cabinet with its risqué objects, for two centuries shown only to holders of special permits; and the Egyptian collection, second in Italy only to Turin's.
Visiting
Three hours for the cornerstones, a day for devotees. The museum is vast and rooms rotate: partial closures are physiological, the haul remains guaranteed. Closed Tuesdays — note, not Mondays as elsewhere.
Getting there
Metro line 1 "Museo" stop or line 2 "Cavour": you surface practically at the door. From the historic centre, ten minutes on foot up Via Santa Maria di Costantinopoli.
Our editors' tip
Pair it with the sites: Pompeii or Herculaneum FIRST, the MANN after — or the reverse, but within one trip. The empty houses and their treasures gathered here are two halves of a single story, and whoever sees only one walks away holding half a tale.