The Amalfi Coast's history stretches back for over 2000 years with many of the towns being major trading hubs of the Roman Empire and beyond. This incredible history is not just visible in ancient ruins but in an abundance of buildings and monuments still standing and in use today. If you know where to look, a journey along the coast can easily serve as a tantalising journey backwards through time.
Pompeii is one of the most famous and most visited archaeological sites in the world. The town existed for 700 years before it was completely buried by the enormous eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. The ash covering the town protected the buildings against the passage of time revealing a perfectly preserved insight into Roman life two thousand years ago.
Capodimonte's main draw may be Caravaggio's Flagellation of Christ or Andy Warhol's Vesuvius, but its extraordinary collection of works spanning the 13th to 20th century, is one of the best in Italy.
The museum hosts a large collection of Roman artifacts from Pompeii, Stabiae and Herculaneum and extensive collections of Greek and Roman antiquities. Their core is from the Farnese Collection, which includes a collection of engraved gems (including the Farnese Cup, a Ptolemaic bowl made of sardonyx agate. The most famous piece is the "Treasure of the Magnificent", founded upon gems collected by Cosimo de' Medici and Lorenzo il Magnifico in the 15th century, and the Farnese Marbles.
Among other notable works found in the museum are the Herculaneum papyri, carbonized by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, found after 1752 in Villa of the Papyri.
The Sansevero Chapel Museum in the historic heart of Naples is a jewel of the world's artistic heritage. Here, baroque creativity, dynastic pride, beauty and mystery blend to create a unique and almost timeless atmosphere. With its masterpieces such as the famous Veiled Christ, renowned world over for the remarkable tissue-like quality of the marble, feats of virtuosity such as Disillusion, and enigmatic creations such as the Anatomical Machines, the Sansevero Chapel is one of the most impressive monuments that the human mind has ever conceived. A noble mausoleum, a temple of initiation, which admirably reflects the multi-faceted personality of its ingenious architect, Raimondo di Sangro, seventh Prince of Sansevero.?