Almost everything that could be lifted out of Pompeii and Herculaneum ended up here, alongside the Farnese family's colossal marbles. See it the day before the sites and the ruins come alive.
The Bourbon kings gathered their Farnese inheritance and the finds from Vesuvius's towns in a 16th-century palace. It became one of the great museums of the ancient world.
On the ground floor stand the Farnese marbles, among them the huge Farnese Bull and the Farnese Hercules, found in Rome's Baths of Caracalla.
Upstairs are the treasures of Pompeii: the Alexander Mosaic, walls of frescoes lifted from villas, and the bronzes of the Villa of the Papyri at Herculaneum. The Secret Cabinet of erotic art was locked away for a century and is now open to adults.
Entry is about €22. The museum is closed on Tuesdays; take the Metro to Museo or Piazza Cavour.
Ground floor to first floor in about three hours.
Start with the Farnese Bull, the largest sculptural group to survive from antiquity.
The Alexander Mosaic, the masks, the fish and the famous "beware of the dog".
Pompeii's erotic art, gathered and hidden by prudish curators.
Painted gardens and still lifes, and the dark bronze runners of the Villa of the Papyri.
End in the great hall where a meridian line still catches the noon sun.
.jpg?width=960)
Metro line 1 to Museo or line 2 to Piazza Cavour; both come up beside the building.
Buy at the door or online; there is rarely a long queue outside holidays.
Photographs from Wikimedia Commons and Pexels under their licences.
.jpg){kind=link}
