Travel Diary: The National Archaeological Museum of Naples (SNSFW)*

Salone della meridiana

While Pompeii & Herculaneum are pretty incredible to explore in person, visiting the museum in Naples provides a fuller experience because that's where a majority of art and artifacts wound up after excavation. Thus you can get a better sense of who those people were.

Each of these faces pretty much sums up how I feel in 90 degree weather.

In the museum you have your standard paintings, frescoes, statues, relics and, my favorite, the mosaics. But the most memorable gallery by far is what is officially known as the secret room, or perhaps more appropriately the sex chamber.

That piece on the left is a good indicator of what's inside.

Upon entering the secret room, the first thing you see are giant stone phalluses. And from there it only gets weirder. There are frescoes depicting couples having sex in various positions, sculptures capturing acts of bestiality, and mysterious humanoid figurines. Don't believe me? Take a look.

I was going to get this as a postcard for a friend, but in the end chose a more tasteful one.

Poor goat.

If you're thinking they're just standing on one leg...they're not.

Who knew Romans were so kinky?

*SNSFW = sort of not safe for work