King Francis I of Naples 1819 visit to the Pompeii exhibition at the National Museum
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In 1819, when King Francis I of the Two Sicilies visited the Pompeii exhibition at the National Museum with his wife and daughter, he was so embarrassed by the erotic artwork that he decided to have it locked away in a secret cabinet, accessible only to "people of mature age and respected morals".
Sex: Vice and Love from Antiquity to Modernity:
- The 'Secret Cabinet' came into existence in 1819 when plans were made for the entire collection of antiquities excavated from Pompeii and Herculaneum to move to Naples. According to the account of Michele Arditi, the curator of the collection at the time, the decision to remove obscene objects came from Francis I... In 1823, the name was changed to 'Gabinetto degli oggetti riservati' ... The most extreme attempt at censorship occurred in 1849, when the doors were closed and the room actually walled up. For 11 years the collection was not ...
It was briefly made accessible again at the end of the 1960s (the time of the sexual revolution) and was finally re-opened for viewing in 2000. Minors are still only allowed entry to the once secret cabinet in the presence of a guardian or with written permission.
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