Scuola napoletana, XIX secolo

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The Crypta neapolitana, dating from the first century BC, is the oldest cave in the city. It was built to facilitate the passage from the sea to the Phlegraean air by the architect Lucio Acuto Cocceio from which the name derives. For the tourists of the Grand Tour the gallery was an essential stage of their itinerary, both for the presence of the tomb of the poet Virgil and for the charm of the place, which according to medieval legend was built by Virgil, magically in one night, with the help of demons.

The gouache provides a valuable testimony of what must have been the appearance of the gallery of the time, a cave dug into the tuff completely surrounded by greenery. The author focuses on the striking glow that can be seen at the entrances of the crypta, effect of the lighting system installed in the nineteenth century, consisting of two rows of lights kept constantly on.