Accademia di Belle Arti

Buzzing with brush-clutching art students, this academy was once the convent of San Giovanni Battista delle Monache. Built in the 17th-century, it was given a thorough makeover in 1864 by architect Enrico Alvino, who gave the building a neoclassical facade, grand staircase, and two noble lions to guard the main entrance. The first-floor gallery houses an important collection of mainly 19th-century Neapolitan work.

Many of the artworks on display are by former academy alumni, including watercolourist Giacinti Gigante and sculptor Vincenzo Gemito. That so many of Gemito's busts were created in 1874 is not a coincidence - he frantically chipped away to pay his way out of military service.