Museum, monsoon and margherita

(Warning; Today's blog post and video does contain some mild adult content related to ancient art)

It was back in 2012 that I heard about the Naples National Archaeological Museum (NNAN) when we were touring the Pompeii site.  During this tour we were advised all 'the good' artefacts have been removed from Pompeii and relocated to the museum in Naples. Pompeii was a truly impressive site but I realised that we only saw part of it on that tour.

Firstly I would like to note that the Naples metro stations are some of the cleanest we have been on in this trip and they are also the most awarded for their layout and decorations inside. Here is Katie descending into the Toledo station.

At the first level it is covered in tiles of a brown earth colour, then as we went down to the lower levels to get the train the tiles changed to mosaic, initially white then changing to aqua and blue as if we were descending into an ocean.  They also have shafts that go from the lowest level to the surface that are giant tubes, again covered in mosaics.

The Naples National Archaeological Museum contains many artefacts and unfortunately due to poor funding has some sections closed and is lacking in amenities for tourists. It took us about two and a half hours to tour the museum. We saw impressive statues, frescoes, mosaics and wall art.  Following are a few photos of the museum.

 

After the museum we wandered the streets of Naples, checking in on a few places that we only saw from the outside during our food tour.

The main attraction we stopped into was Museo Cappella Sansevro where we were able to see The Veiled Christ. Unfortunately no photos were allowed to be taken inside but we did purchase some postcards which will be added to our photo albums when home.

http://www.museosansevero.it/en/the-veiled-christ/the-statue 

This masterpiece was created by Giuseppe Sanmartino in 1753 and is a life size sculpture created with one piece of marble. 

It is truly one of the most amazing things I have seen. The cloth over christs body actually looks like real cloth.The veins in the hands can be seen through the skin and then through the cloth. The nail holes can also be seen in the hands.  Amazing.

For dinner this evening we only spent 20Euro (30AUD), for both of us. We had house wine, bottled water and an entree of bruschetta.

Katie then followed with a Margherita Pizza and I had a calzone with cheese, pomodoro and prosciutto (Pizza folded like a pastie with Ricotta Cheese, tomato and ham inside).

The food was truly great and we couldn't believe how low the bill was. 

Today's video;

Finally, here is a picture of the fish marketeer, just next to the hotel where were are staying in. (I'm not sure why he has sparkling wine bottles in with the clams etc.)

Tomorrow, Hercules.