Naples. The Hypogeum of the Crystals, located in the heart of Naples' Rione Sanità district, opens to the public on July 1st. This rare and incredible example of Hellenistic painting and architecture was discovered in the basement of a private palace.
The restoration project, strongly supported by the Martuscelli family, owners of the Hypogeum, is partly financed with Por Fesr 2014-2020 funds and is carried out under the supervision and scientific coordination of the Superintendency of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for the Municipality of Naples, in collaboration with the Central Institute for Restoration.
The initiative was presented this morning at a press conference at the National Archaeological Museum of Naples by the President of the Campania Region Vincenzo De Luca, the Mayor of Naples Gaetano Manfredi, the Superintendent Luigi La Rocca, the Director of the ICR Alessandra Marino together with the Director of the Mann Paolo Giulierini and the Director of the Ipogeo dei Cristallini, Alessandra Calise.
Speakers included Father Antonio Loffredo, from the Basilica del rione Sanità, and Ibrahim Al-Marashi, a history professor at California State University San Marcos. The meeting, coordinated by Antonio Galdo, inaugurated the opening of the new site by welcoming guests in the Sala del Toro Farnese and offering the opportunity to admire the exhibition of Hellenistic finds from the Ipogeo dei Cristallini preserved at the Mann.
The event was accompanied by the notes of Schumann and Listz played on the piano by Sara Amoresano. To celebrate with the city the opening of the Ipogeo dei Cristallini, visits from 1 to 10 July will be free for everyone, bookable online on the website www.ipogeodeicristallini.org. Subsequently, for entry you will have to pay a ticket (25 euros, reduced 12 euros) except for the first Sunday of each month for which there is no paid ticket.
“We are talking about something extraordinary,” said President De Luca, “we are talking about archaeological excavations that took place in a private villa. The Campania Region is proud, we have financed this cultural project with 200 thousand euros that allows the recovery of the Cristallini, we are talking about tombs from the Hellenistic period. It is truly an immense heritage that is coming out in the city of Naples”.
For Manfredi, the opening of the Ipogeo dei Cristallini "is a great result. It is a small jewel of Greek Naples, perhaps one of the best preserved examples of Greek pre-existence in the city. For Sanità it represents another jewel and this helps us to launch the new tourist offer we are working on, linked precisely to the Greco-Roman roots of Naples".
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