MANN Numismatics section reopens with more than 6,000 coins and new exhibits

From May 25, the Numismatic section of the National Archaeological Museum of Naples (MANN) reopens to the public, at the end of an intervention supported by extraordinary funding from the Ministry of Culture under the PON Culture and Development 2014-2020, supplemented by ordinary funds 2024 and 2025. The intervention allowed for an expansion of the exhibition route and an overall reorganization of the collections, with the inclusion of new nuclei of materials and the rearrangement of sections already present.

The itinerary is presented as an articulated structure that brings together more than six thousand coins, medals, cones and punches, to which additional archaeological materials are added, and is developed as a reading of the economic and cultural history of the Mediterranean and southern Italy from antiquity to the modern age. The collection of artifacts makes it possible to traverse different monetary systems and production contexts, from the Greek and Roman worlds to the medieval, Renaissance and modern phases, also including Byzantine, Lombard, Norman, Angevin, Aragonese and later European and Bourbon dominations.

Currency is proposed as a complex cultural object, a carrier of symbolic, technological and communicative values. The museum statement recalls the function of currency as a unit of value, medium of exchange and indicator of status, while highlighting its contemporary transformation toward increasingly dematerialized forms. Within this perspective, the historical role of currency as an ante litteram means of communication, capable of conveying images, symbols and political power, is also emphasized.

The MANN’s new layout therefore proposes an itinerary that aims to reconstruct the long duration of monetary history, from Greek and Italic issues to the studies and collections of the modern age. A central element of the expansion concerns theinclusion of one hundred and thirty pieces of gold, precious metals and gemstonesjewelry, which have returned to public view after nearly fifty years. These are artifacts from the Greek, Italic, Magna-Greek, Etruscan, Roman, and Late Antique periods, presented in a diachronic itinerary and, where possible, linked to the contexts in which they were found. The stated goal is to restore an aesthetic, historical and sociocultural reading of ancient goldsmith production through objects that testify to techniques and patterns of high craftsmanship.

Alongside the jewelry, the reopening includes a particularly important nucleus consisting of rare gold textiles from the Vesuvian area buried by the eruption of 79 AD. The artifacts, restored in collaboration with theOpificio delle Pietre Dure in Florence, return to the exhibition after a lengthy conservation intervention. Analyses conducted during the restoration revealed the complexity of the workmanship, characterized by the interweaving of gold threads and wild silk. The museum also emphasizes the innovative conservation and display methods adopted for these materials, which are considered rare testimonies of textile production in the imperial age.

Curated by Renata Cantilena and Floriana Miele, with the scientific collaboration of Lucia Amalia Scatozza for the section dedicated to ancient jewelry, Numismatics will be presented to the public on May 25 at 11:30 a.m. In preparation for the reopening, restoration work was carried out on the historic furnishings, as well as the cleaning and full restoration of the exhibits. The project also involved updating the lighting and enhancing the video surveillance system in the showcases. New exhibits include a valuable hoard of coins from the Caupona of Salvius in Pompeii and an important funerary inscription referring to a nummularius, a figure assimilated to a money-changer in the Roman context.

“The reopening of the Numismatics section,” comments the Director General of the National Archaeological Museum of Naples, Francesco Sirano, “crowns the rigorous study and research activities in the very rich Medagliere of the National Archaeological Museum of Naples, an exceptional collection not only for the number of specimens preserved (about 160 thousand), but also for the temporal extension and variety of issuing mints. What we recount is not a simple collection of coins, but a true journey surprising for its multiformity, a journey through time and space that takes us from ancient Greece to Italy and other regions of the Roman Empire, from popular markets to the great Renaissance courts. Finally, it is also a journey into the history of the Museum itself: it is no coincidence that the display is symbolically opened by the bust of Giuseppe Fiorelli, the principal ordinator of the numismatic section of the Institute. We present a renewed and more accessible collection, with bilingual apparatuses, made even more fascinating by the in-depth study of ancient jewelry, which returns an extremely interesting glimpse into the taste and design of the past. And, to conclude the tour, gold textiles from the area buried by Vesuvius in 79 A.D. await us, leaving us speechless with their rarity. The reopening of the Numismatics marks another step in the enhancement strategy to increase cultural offerings for citizens and all visitors.”

MANN Numismatics section reopens with more than 6,000 coins and new exhibits

Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.