The 10 Best History Museums in Campania, Italy

Enchanting scenery that unfolds to the eyes of visitors, a secret place full of history and magic atmosphere.An emotional journey that conducts visitors in the new section of the underground of Naples. It is situated in Vico del Grottone 4, from to 150 mt. to Plebiscito Square. Until a few years ago it wasa veterinary laboratory, now is the entrance of the Bourbon Tunnel. A staircase with 8 ramps, 33 yards deep descending into the belly of Chiaia. The second entry is in Via Domenico Morelli,40, through the crosswalk of “Quick parking”.The Tunnel was built in 1853 by Ferdinand II of Bourbon, who, concerned about the outbreak of rebellion, he asked for an escape from the Royal Palace to the barrack in Via della Pace, now Via Morelli. The work was uncompleted and, during the second World War, was used by residents of the area as a military hospital, later becoming the Hall Judicial Deposit.The war left its mark even in the subsoil. That’s way there are handwrite, folding beds, messages of wish and desolation of those who lived it and still maintains its memory. Along the tunnel thereare also the evidences, 530 meters, where visitors can discover the history of real life. Through the spacious streets, it’s easy reachable the network of tunnels and cisterns of seventeenth-century,large buildings, where worked the "pozzari", the only connoisseur of Naples underground.The show is stunning, but that's not finished. On Via Morelli appear statues dating back to fascist period and many cars and motorcycles, abandoned for years, freed from piles of rubbish, arranged and illuminated ad hoc for the route.Nothing is left to chance, even lighting, perfectly integrated with the path of the visitors.Since today everything is possible to visit. Five years ago the scenery was completely different.Rubbish, degradation, wastes of all kinds covered the reliquaries.

This 18th-century museum houses magnificent collections from such renowned artists as Masaccio, Titian, Raphael, El Greco and Bruegel, including the immense Farnese collection.

Villa San Michele is the life’s work at Capri of the Swedish physician and author Axel Munthe (1857–1949). It is surrounded by an impressive garden, which recently won the price as Italy’s most beautiful private park. Behind it is the Barbarossa mountain, that Axel Munthe turned into a sanctuary for migratory birds. Axel Munthe recounts the story of his life and the creation of the villa in The Story of San Michele (1929). It became one of the first international bestsellers in modern time. The tale that then captivated countless readers all over the world, lives on in Villa San Michele, in its rooms and garden and in the Egyptian sphinx, that silently watches the sea from its balustrade.

At the beginning of the XVII century the Clarisse Nuns of the Monastery of Santa Maria Donnaregina decided to build a new Church better complying with the Baroque taste. The construction began in the first quarter of the century seeing the participation of the most renowned artists of the period, such as F. Solimena and L.Giordano. Prestigious masterpieces by famous artists such as A. Falcone, L. Giordano, F. Solimena, M. Stanzione, M. Pino da Siena, A. Vaccaro, C. Mellin were brought back to the Church on the occasion of the opening of the Diocese Museum, whose permanent exhibition within the Church covers a surface of nearly 3000 square mt. On display also gold and silver liturgical pieces, among the others the St. Leonzio Reliquary Cross and the St. Vincenzo Treasure. The arrangement of the works of art of the Museum follows a thematic itinerary covering the most significant subjects of Christian Faith. The wide spaces available make the Museum an ideal location to host any kind