The 2nd-floor gallery at Naples' esteemed Academy of Fine Arts houses an important collection of 19th- and 20th-century Neapolitan work, many 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.
The building itself 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 structure a neoclassical facade, a grand staircase and two noble lions to guard the main entrance.
