This is the story of one amazing day in Naples and Pompeii with Walks of Italy. Click here to read what happened and what we saw during Part 1, our tour of Pompei
After our amazing morning in Pompeii, our tour guide Ilaria, and driver Enzo, shepherded our family back to the city center
Once there we made our way to the National Museum of Archeology. Here we were to be treated to some breathtaking sculptures from the Farnese family collection, as well as given the chance to view several of the artifacts found in Pompeii.
The Archaeological museum is housed in what was once a stable.
The building shows few signs of its humble beginnings inside, though you can just barely imagine it in the courtyard where construction continues on the centuries old structure.
We began our tour with the statues, of which there were many. Roman emperors, and stars of Roman mythology, and sometimes, Roman emperors as stars of Roman Mythology – the line was blurred. They were all larger than life.
My favorite statue was Agrippina.
She is remembered as an overly involved, scheming and political mother who was eventually murdered by her son Nero. But first she survived multiple bungled attempts on her life by his men, including one in which she swam away from a sinking ship and then wrote a letter to her diabolical son about her “miraculous survival!”
Despite the history I am oddly amused by her exasperated face. It’s similar to the one that parents of teenagers contort their features into on occasion, even without murderous children to contend with. Her look says “Really? REALLY?!!!” Poor Agrippina.
The detail on some of these statues was amazing. The original parts were all so much better than restorations. I could shoot photos of marble statues for hours.
One more fact that I learned from Ilaria that I would never have guessed (and wonder how I reached middle age without knowing) is that these statues were all originally colored and painted. The paints faded over time and in some cases were washed off by well meaning collectors who wanted to “clean” them.
Our last stop in the Museum was to view the artifacts from Pompeii. Many of these are currently out on loan to the British Museum but there was still plenty for us to see.
Once again I felt the spirits near as I admired the perfectly preserved silver collection of one family. It could be at home on any modern table at present. It was spared destruction because the home where it was found was undergoing renovations and the owners had wrapped it up and hidden their treasures underground during the renovations, to prevent the workers from stealing.
Gynecological tools recovered from the ruins also drove home the “some things never change” concept. Nothing like a two thousand year old speculum to make you feel oddly bonded with the female residents of Pompeii.
Perhaps the most poignant items were the glass ones, hand blown and beautifully made. Comparable to something we’d buy today. Hilaria told us about the different uses of items . Many were imported via common trade routes. Glass doves were perfume receptacles, most likely from Rhodes and broken not by accident, you had to break the neck to “open” the bottle.
This cameo glass vase had an fascinating story as well. But I’m not going to tell it to you. You’re going to have to take a tour with Walks of Italy and Hilaria to hear it first hand.
I cannot express how incredibly grateful I am to have experienced Italy with such a knowledgeable guide. There is no way I would go back to Italy without contacting Walks of Italy. Their personalized tours and passionate guides make every moment memorable. Which is exactly what you need, when you’ve invested in a trip of a lifetime – tours that live up to the occasion.
Thanks to Walks of Italy for taking us on this truly memorable, and fantastic guided tour of Pompeii and Naples. This post has not been compensated but our tour was comped. All opinions are my own.
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