The
Boscoreale Antiquarium is a
museum just a short distance (about 2 km) north of the Porta
Marina entrance at the Pompeii ruins (it is signposted from this
entrance). Opened in 1991, the Boscoreale Antiquarium features exhibits from the archaeological sites of
Boscoreale, Oplontis, Herculaneum, Pompeii, Terzigno and Stabiae. Because
it is a smaller museum and much less visited, it provides a
quiet, calm introduction to the Pompeii sites (before tackling
the crowds at Pompeii and, to a lesser extent, Herculaneum). I
highly recommend it.
If you wish to
visit Boscoreale, along with Pompeii
and Herculaneum (as well
as Oplontis and Stabiae), you can buy one ticket (valid for
three days) that allows entry to these five sites (the adult
price of €20.00 is a slight bargain if you plan to visit
two sites, but a huge value if you will visit all five; note you
can only visit each site once during the three days).
Its permanent
exhibit features three plaster casts, including the original plaster cast of the famous Pompeii guard dog (thank you, Rick
Bauer, for the following three photos).
Occasionally, the
museum may offer special exhibits in an upstairs space. Recently the
Boscoreale Antiquarium held a special exhibit on the plaster
casts (which, it is thought, may be transferred to the remodeled
Pompeii Antiquarium in
late 2010 or early 2011). Thank you to Rick Bauer for providing
the following photograph from the special exhibit:
As you leave the
Boscoreale Antiquarium, you pass by the Villa Regina, the only
Pompeii-era villa open to the public. The villa, excavated
between 1977 and 1980, was a typical Roman farming settlement
specializing in winemaking.
