The Sundial Hall
When the Royal Museum of Naples was created in 1777, this building was destined to house also the Royal Library and the Fine Arts Academy, other than the art collection. The intention was that of creating a building for the nurturing of knowledge and its dissemination, in line with enlightenment ideals of the period.
In this context, for nearly a century and a half, the Sundial Hall was the most representative space of the Royal Bourbon Library, later National Library (1783–1926). Much of its late eighteenth-century decoration is still intact. In particular, the fresco by Pietro Bardellino (1781), which decorates the ceiling, celebrates the glory of Bourbon rulers as patrons of the arts, with a cartouche bearing a reminder that the arts will perish if they are not displayed and promoted: “Iacent nisi pateant”.
In this context, for nearly a century and a half, the Sundial Hall was the most representative space of the Royal Bourbon Library, later National Library (1783–1926). Much of its late eighteenth-century decoration is still intact. In particular, the fresco by Pietro Bardellino (1781), which decorates the ceiling, celebrates the glory of Bourbon rulers as patrons of the arts, with a cartouche bearing a reminder that the arts will perish if they are not displayed and promoted: “Iacent nisi pateant”.
In 1791, the Hall was enriched with a sundial, after which it was named, still perfectly working today. The sundial was installed in the south-western corner of the floor, according to a design by the architect Pompeo Schiantarelli and to the scientific calculations of the astronomer Giuseppe Casella. It should have been the first step of a comprehensive project which would have created in the building the first astronomic observer in Naples, but, because of a series of reasons, the project was carried out somewhere else, on the hill of Capodimonte, between 1812 and 1819.
With time, the need for space to house the ever-expanding artwork collection resulted in the transferral of the Library to the Royal Palace in Piazza del Plebiscito (1926). From that moment, the monumental eighteenth-century space, cleared of the wooden shelves that had been lining its walls, was integrated into the Museum.
With time, the need for space to house the ever-expanding artwork collection resulted in the transferral of the Library to the Royal Palace in Piazza del Plebiscito (1926). From that moment, the monumental eighteenth-century space, cleared of the wooden shelves that had been lining its walls, was integrated into the Museum.
With time, the need for space to house the ever-expanding artwork collection resulted in the transferral of the Library to the Royal Palace in Piazza del Plebiscito (1926). From that moment, the monumental eighteenth-century space, cleared of the wooden shelves that had been lining its walls, was integrated into the Museum.
At the end of the Hall, the two famous marble candelabra by Piranesi have regained their place: they are a perfect example of the skilfull re-use, during the neo-classical period, of ancient fragments recombined in modern works. At last, there are two statues representing the Muses Urania and Erato, from Herculaneum, which evoke the glory of the arts, also depicted in the fresco ceiling by Bardellino, together with the famous Farnese Atlas..
