The guide examines the mosaics preserved at the Museo Archeologico Nazionale of Naples, transferred from houses in Herculaneum and Pompeii and brought to light by excavations since the 18th century. The most beautiful mosaics were detached and used to adorn the residences of the Bourbons and, starting in 1816, the Royal Bourbon Museum, the original core of what would become the Museo Archeologico Nazionale. The highest point in the history of the collection was definitely the discovery of the House of the Faun in Pompeii: one after another, between 1830 and 1832, eleven mosaics were discovered, each more beautiful than the last, and above all the supreme “Great Mosaic”, the battle-piece depicting Alexander and Darius. Considering the importance of this core collection, the guide includes not only the mosaics but also all the other objects coming from the House of the Faun, reconstructing a lifestyle that embraces almost two centuries of ancient history.
