This museum and gallery, two of Italy's finest, are housed in the 18th-century Capodimonte Palace, built in the time of Charles III and set in a park. Seven Flemish tapestries, made according to the designs of Bernart van Orley, show grand-scale scenes from the Battle of Pavia (1525), in which the forces of François I of France, more than 25,000 strong, lost to those of Charles V. Van Orley, who lived in a pre-Guernica day, obviously considered war not a horror but a romantic ballet.

One of the picture gallery's greatest possessions is Simone Martini's Coronation, depicting the brother of Robert of Anjou being crowned king of Naples by the bishop of Toulouse. You'll want to linger over the great Masaccio's Crucifixion, a bold expression of grief. The most important room is literally filled with the works of Renaissance masters, notably an Adoration of the Child, by Luca Signorelli; a Madonna and Child, by Perugino; a panel by Raphael; a Madonna and Child with Angels, by Botticelli; and, the most beautiful, Filippino Lippi's Annunciation and Saints.

Look for Andrea Mantegna's St. Eufemia and portrait of Francesco Gonzaga, his brother-in-law Giovanni Bellini's Transfiguration, and Lotto's Portrait of Bernardo de Rossi and Madonna and Child with St. Peter. In one room are Raphael's Holy Family and St. John and a copy of his celebrated portrait of Pope Leo X. Two choice sketches are Raphael's Moses and Michelangelo's Three Soldiers. Displayed farther on are the Titians, with Danae taking the spotlight from Pope Paul III.

Another room is devoted to Flemish art: Pieter Bruegel's Blind Men is outstanding and his Misanthrope is devilishly powerful. Other foreign works include Joos van Cleve's Adoration of the Magi. You can climb the stairs for a panoramic view of Naples and the bay, a finer landscape than you'll see inside.

The State Apartments downstairs deserve inspection. Room after room is devoted to gilded mermaids, Venetian sedan chairs, ivory carvings, a porcelain chinoiserie salon, tapestries, the Farnese armory, and a glass and china collection.

Prices Admission

7.50€ ($9.75)

Opening hours

10a-7p M-Sa, 9a-2p Su and holidays

Transportation

Bus: CS

Website: http://www.musis.it/capodimonte.asp?museo=1