Museums & galleries
Secret Museum
The Secret Museum or Secret Cabinet in Naples is the collection of 1st-century Roman erotic art found in Pompeii and Herculaneum, now held in separate galleries at the National Archaeological Museum, the former Museo Borbonico. The term "cabinet" is used in reference to the "cabinet of curiosities" - i.e. any well-presented collection of objects to admire and study.
What it is
The Secret Museum, or Gabinetto Segreto, is a small group of rooms inside the National Archaeological Museum of Naples holding Roman erotic art recovered from Pompeii and Herculaneum. The material includes wall paintings, frescoes, statues, and everyday objects decorated with sexual imagery — items that were considered scandalous when first excavated and kept locked away from general view for much of their history. It's worth a stop for anyone curious about the more private side of Roman daily life, alongside the museum's better-known mosaics and sculpture.
Getting there
The rooms are part of the National Archaeological Museum itself, so there's no separate trip involved — once inside the museum, follow signage to the dedicated galleries. The museum sits right at the edge of the historic centre, an easy walk from Piazza Dante and reachable by metro (Museo or Cavour stations) in a few minutes from most central points in Naples.
How much time to allow
The collection itself is compact, so 20–30 minutes is usually enough to see it properly. Most visitors combine it with the rest of the museum, which takes several hours on its own.
When to go
Because access is often restricted to smaller groups at a time, there can be a short wait to enter, especially around midday when the main museum is busiest. Visiting earlier in the day tends to mean fewer people both in these rooms and in the museum generally.
What to combine it with
Since the Secret Museum is inside the National Archaeological Museum, the rest of that collection is the natural pairing. Afterwards, Piazza Dante is a 5-minute walk for a coffee break, and both San Paolo Maggiore and the Cappella Sansevero, with its famous Veiled Christ sculpture, are about 0.6km away, making for an easy extension of the visit into the surrounding historic centre.
Sources: open data from Wikipedia and OpenStreetMap · Updated August 5, 2026 · Edited by the World by City editors
