Open Letter on the Herculanean Excavations
from On Archaeology
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 March 2014
Summary
Noble Count,
As I had the pleasure of accompanying you on your journey from Rome to Naples during the carnival in 1762, I decided to set down something on the unusual things that you saw in the Royal Museum at Portici, to remind you of the most remarkable things, and at the same time to provide instruction to other travelers, who are not able, during a short stay there, to give everything their full attention.
I have had more opportunity than others, both strangers and local people, to examine these treasures of antiquity, as I stayed for almost two months on my first visit in Portici itself. By virtue of a royally sanctioned decree that I should be shown everything that one is allowed to see, and with all possible convenience I made use of this free access to the best of my ability. As a result, I spent whole days in the museum. You know, Noble Count, that during our stay of three weeks in Naples scarcely a day passed when I did not travel to Portici in the early morning. Apart from this my close friendship with Mr. Camillo Paderni, the custodian of this museum, provided me with sufficient opportunity to examine everything as I wanted, and it was like being in my own home there.
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- Johann Joachim Winckelmann on Art, Architecture, and Archaeology , pp. 191 - 250Publisher: Boydell & BrewerPrint publication year: 2013