570 N A P 
The Reg-i Studii, or Royal Mufeum of Antiquities, is 
a very tall and fpacious edifice. It was originally built 
for cavalry-barracks, as is Hill evident from the arrange¬ 
ment of the ground-floor, notwithftar.ding the alterations 
that have fince been made in it. This was about the com¬ 
mencement of the 17th century, when the city was yet 
liirrounded with walls, on the outiide of which it was 
fituated, near the Conftantinople-gate. Thofe who fixed 
upon this iite, however, had overlooked the circundtance 
that the fpot was deftitute of frelh-water; on which ac¬ 
count its firll deftination was relinquiflied. It was then 
appropriated by the viceroy, count Lemos, to the pur- 
pofes of an academy or univertity ; and the other ftories, 
provided with a great number of ledlure-rooms and other 
apartments, were built by his command. A parallel 
ftrudture was erected for the fame ufe, and the two wings 
connedted by a centre ; all which are reported to have colt 
200 ,oqq lcudi. The bufinefs of academical inftrudtion 
was committed to the Jefuits. During the government of 
the duke of OlTuna, towards the end of the feventeenth 
century, the firft arrangements were made for depofiting 
here the antique works of art and infcriptions difcovered 
at ancient Cumae, which formed the firft little gallery of 
antiques pofiefied by Naples. At the general expulfion of 
the Jefuits, they were obliged to evacuate this edifice; 
upon which, the univerfity founded there was transferred 
to the college of St. Salvador. About this time, or rather 
a little earlier, it was refolved to unite the works of an¬ 
cient art, dug up at Pompeii, Herculaneum, and in other 
parts of the kingdom, and collected in different places in 
the city, with the admirable Farnefe Colledtion brought 
from Rome, and to depoflt them all here, together with 
the Cumsean monuments, in a place enlarged for their 
reception. With the works in bronze and marble, it was 
intended to unite the Campanian vafes, the antique paint¬ 
ings from Portici, the modern pidtures from Capodi Monte, 
the Herculaneum papyri, and a copious public library. 
In this grand idea, flrenuoufly encouraged by fir William 
Hamilton and the German artift Philip Hackert, Ferdi¬ 
nand IV. cheerfully acquiefced; but only part of this 
laudable plan was carried into execution before Ferdi¬ 
nand’s expulfion from his continental dominions. But 
little was done for this inftitution during the brief reign 
of Jofeph Bonaparte. Under him, indeed, a cabinet of 
natural curiofities was begun here; but of the kind of 
patronage bellowed upon it by this ruler, who was as fud- 
denly precipitated from his elevation as he was raifed to 
it by fortune, fome idea may be formed from-the well- 
authenticated fa< 51 , that he ordered the teeth to be fawed 
away from the fine fkeleton of an elephant in this cabinet, 
that he might have a dozen balls turned out of them for 
his billiard-table. It was not till the time of Murat, who 
rendered confiderable fervice to the arts and fciences in 
general at Naples, that the firft intentions with regard 
to this edifice were carried fo far into-effedt, that it is now 
entitled to very honourable diftindlion. 
The approach to this building prepoflefles a ftranger in 
its favour. A very lofty and fpacious gateway, within 
which carriages are admitted, receives the vifitor, who 
difcovers between the colonnades of the covered court¬ 
yard fome exquifi.tely-preferved ftatues and other valuable 
antiques. On tlie right of the entrance are the apart¬ 
ments of the keepers, and on the left thofe of the perfons 
appointed to fhow the different mufeums. To thefe a 
ftranger muft of courfe apply, and, upon giving in his 
name, if he be a foreigner, he is ftirnifhed once for all 
with a ticket which procures admiflion to all the treafures 
preferved here. 
The lower part is of courfe appropriated folely to the 
reception of the antiques of marble and bronze, vafes of 
all kinds offtone, farcophagi, cippi, altars, columns, and 
infcriptions. On the left of the entrance you are con¬ 
ducted to this mufeum through a corridor adorned with 
bulls, and alfo with antiques in terra cotta, among which 
a Jupiter and a Juno are particularly worthy of notice. 
You pafs fucceflively into feven fpacious rooms, which are 
L E S. 
well lighted, and in this refpedl are far fuperior to thofe of 
the Louvre and the unfcientific arrangement of the an¬ 
tiques there. Here you find aTmoft all the curiofities that 
have been difcovered in Curas, Herculaneum, Pompeii, 
and at other parts of the kingdom, as well as whatever 
has been purchafed abroad, and the Farnefe Collection, 
or at leaft the molt valuable works that belonged to it 
when at Rome. We can notice only a few of the princi¬ 
pal articles of this collection. 
The firft and largeft of the feven rooms contains nothing 
but antique bronzes, a collection indifputably unique in 
its kind. Molt, if not all, of thefe were found at Hercu¬ 
laneum or Pompeii; and this circundtance alone would 
render them peculiarly interefting. The chief of the 
bronzes, arranged in this apartment, are the ftatues larger 
than life of Auguftus, Mammius Maximus, Caiatorius, 
Caracalla, Annins Verus, Drufus Nero, and a Pietas with 
wonderfully-beautiful drapery, and on that account unique 
in bronze. All of them are not only tolerably free from 
injury, but their furface is fo exquiiitely reftored, that 
they appear to have but recently iffued from the mould. 
The connoifleur will regret the abfence of the admirable Sit¬ 
ting Hermes, the Lottatore, and the Drunken Faun, which 
have been carried to Palermo ; but of which, as of many 
other figures and bulls, well-exec utedplaftercafts, bronzed, 
are to be leen here. Here is ftill, however, one of the fine 
large horfes in bronze, belonging to the quadriga found 
at Herculaneum, and alfo the Tread and part of the neck of 
the colofial lrorfe, confidered as the ancient fign of the 
city of Naples, which, by Murat’s order, was removed 
hither from the Palazzo del Cavallo. Many antique wea¬ 
pons from Paeftum, and bronze vafes from Herculaneum, 
are likewife depofited in this apartment. In the fecond 
room are a large Atlas, exquiiitely wrought in marble; a 
fine Ariftides; a ftatue of beautiful workmanfhip, com¬ 
pletely covered with the toga, and given out to be a ge¬ 
nuine Cicero; two Sybils; and a remarkable bull of 
Apollonius of Tyana. In the third room is feen the far- 
famed Farnefian Hercules alone. This mafter-piece of 
Glycon is fo placed, that you may go round it, and view 
and admire it on all ikies. In the fourth room are feen 
the graceful Adonis; the celebrated Venus Callipygi, 
among upwards of nine other ftatues of the goddeis in 
various attitudes ; and a Cupid riding on a dolphin, which 
adorned a fountain in Pompeii. Tiie centre of the fifth 
room is decorated with the grand vale of Salpion, repre- 
fenting the birth of Bacchus. It was formerly ufed as a 
baptifmal font in the principal church at Gaeta. An ad¬ 
mirable frame for a fountain from Pompeii ferves it for 
a pedeftal, upon which the feven deities, Jupiter, Mars, 
Apollo, yEfculapius, Bacchus, Hercules, and Mercury, 
are reprefented in baflo-relievo. Other remarkable ob¬ 
jects in this apartment are, the Mufes, a fmall beautiful 
Bacchus, and an Apollino recently difcovered at Hercu¬ 
laneum. I11 the fixth room another large Apollo Mufa- 
getes, in bronze, attradis notice; as does likewife an 
Apollo in porphyry. Among the moil diltinguilhed 
works in the feventh room, the beautiful Flora, already 
fufficiently known, a female torfo, another of Bacchus, 
and two baflfo-relievos of Bacchanals are particularly wor¬ 
thy of notice. Lallly, in the gallery our attention is 
more efpecially engaged by a colofial Bacchus, in the An- 
tinous form ; Pallas throwing the javelin, in what is termed 
the Hetrurian ftyle ; Juno ; Venus vidtrix; Bacchus and 
Eros; and a Satyr. It contains likewife feveral large 
vafes. 
The area of the inner court is filled with a great num¬ 
ber of fepulchral urns, &c. and the columns of Herodes 
Atticus. Here, too, are found ancient doliu, or wine- 
veflels, one of which is of fuch fize as to hold eighteen 
buckets. All of them are of burned clay. 
On attending the ftaircafe from the ground-floor, you 
come to the recently-eredted pidture-galiery, which con¬ 
tains many valuable performances. It is compofed partly 
of the treafures of the Capo di Monte, many exquifite 
pieces of which have however been removed to Palermo, 
2 3B& 
