Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli

The National Archaeological Museum of Naples (MANN) is an Italian state museum. The museum is considered one of the most important archaeological museums in the world, if not the most important for Roman art, due to its extensive and valuable holdings of works of art and artefacts, which are displayed across an exhibition area of 12,650 m².

The initial architectural plan for the building, which was never fully realised and was intended for the Scuderie Vicereali, saw the construction of the piperno portal on the western side along Via Santa Teresa. This was completed in 1585 by order of the Viceroy of Spain, Don Pedro Giron, and was designed by the architect Giovanni Vincenzo Casale.
The structure was transformed between 1610 and 1615 by architect Giulio Cesare Fontana with the intention of relocating the Studi (formerly the University) there.
The initial project, which entailed the construction of a building characterised by a two-storey central body, raised above the two single-level side wings, was not completed. Only the western wing and the central body were completed. The façade was embellished with a series of alternating windows and niches, with the exception of the main entrance and two secondary side doors. The windows, which were surmounted by marble vases on the gables and medallions with half-busts, were flanked by niches containing ancient statues with modern additions. The windows themselves were adorned with variously ornamented cornices. The cornice of the palace was completed with the addition of a marble balustrade, which featured vases and pinnacles. Additionally, statues were positioned on either side of the gable, surmounting the central body. These were accompanied by vases and obelisks, which flanked a small arched structure housing a clock bell.
The Neapolitan Athenaeum remained in the building for over a century and a half until it was transferred to the Royal Boarding School of the Saviour in 1777.
Towards the end of the 18th century, the architects Ferdinando Fuga and Pompeo Schiantarelli initiated the enlargement of the old Palazzo degli Studi with the intention of converting it into a universal museum, in accordance with the encyclopaedic cultural model that was then in vogue. The museum was to be used by the Royal Museum of Portici, the Capodimonte Picture Gallery, the Grand Public Library, the Schools for the three Fine Arts (Painting, Sculpture and Architecture), and the Room for the Study of the Nude. During this period, the palace underwent a significant transformation, losing the majority of its sculptural embellishments and undergoing an additional floor of construction, giving rise to its present, more concentrated and imposing architectural profile. The laboratories for the Schools of Fine Arts were situated within the rooms of the east wing of the first floor, which were arranged around the large Salone della Meridiana. This room was originally used as an astronomical observatory and was therefore referred to as the Salone della Meridiana, or Sundial Room.

The room was decorated with frescoes by Pietro Bardellino, which included a celebratory epigraph and an allegorical scene dedicated to Ferdinand IV and his wife Maria Carolina. These figures were regarded as protectors of the sciences and the arts. Furthermore, the walls were embellished with eighteen canvases by Giovan Battista Draghi, which depicted historical subjects. Subsequently, the room underwent a transformation into a library.
The architectural restoration work, which was completed between 1821 and 1825, was undertaken by Pietro Bianchi. This included the enlargement of the north-eastern corner of the building. Furthermore, he was responsible for the placement of the statue of Ferdinand I of Bourbon, depicted in the guise of Minerva and created by Antonio Canova, in a niche designed specifically for it in the centre of the staircase leading to the Museum's upper level. The initial configuration of the Royal Bourbon Museum, devised by Michele Arditi in 1807, could be deemed complete by the standards of the period, encompassing both typological and material classifications, by 1830. This was achieved through the incorporation of additional donations, purchases, and archaeological discoveries from the territories of the Kingdom of Naples.
Following the unification of Italy in 1860, the Royal Bourbon Museum was designated as state property and subsequently renamed the National Museum. Between 1863 and 1875, the museum was enriched by the notable Santangelo collection and underwent a comprehensive reorganization by Giuseppe Fiorelli, who employed a typological approach to its arrangement. The new reorganisation carried out by Ettore Pais between 1901 and 1904 was followed by rearrangements of individual collections, which were also made possible by the availability of new spaces created by the relocation of the Library to the Royal Palace in Naples in 1925 and the Art Gallery to the present Capodimonte Museum in 1957. Consequently, only the substantial antiquities collections remained in situ, thereby establishing the museum's present-day identity as the Archaeological Museum. Additionally, the museum building serves as the headquarters of the Special Superintendency for the Archaeological Heritage of Naples and Pompeii.