Naples' National Archaeological Museum launches its own edition of Monopoly

The National Archaeological Museum of Naples is the first Italian museum to have a “collector’s” edition of Monopoly, the world’s best-loved board game. Only 1,000 copies of the MANN-branded Monopoly have been made, and they are already available at the museum’s bookshop (priced at 69 euros) and soon online: proceeds from sales will go toward the restoration of the Pompeian safes in the MANN’s collections.

Created by Elizabeth Magie in the early 20th century and first published in 1935, Monopoly has won over a billion people in 114 countries and 47 languages. In Italy, more than 200,000 units are sold each year. The MANN project was conceived and curated by archaeologist Mario Grimaldi. The graphics by Antonella Colucci were optimized by Silvia Neri. The realization started with the processing of the game board, according to specifications provided by Hasbro, using the Sundial Hall as the central source image, inserting specific fonts and making custom logos. Printed on the money is the logo of the National Archaeological Museum of Naples. Winning Moves is the British company authorized by Hasbro (owner of the rights to Monopoly) to create special editions of the game, such as this one dedicated to the MANN. The creator with MANN of the project is DABLIU, an advertising and strategic consulting agency, established 2004 in Naples and operating internationally.

On the game board, intended to engage an audience of all ages, appear the permanent sections of the museum, including the soon-to-open Campania Romana. One will then advance through the rooms admiring some of the most famous and representative pieces, also reproduced on the pawns made in 3D. Even Odds and Odds, have been adapted to the life of the Museum: players will come across restoration fees, entrance fees, exhibitions, guided tours etc.

“We will start with a rare piece because of its small size; we can almost call it a portable safe. Never opened, it has been kept in storage for over two hundred years,” says MANN director Paolo Giulierini. “We invite all collectors of board games and the many enthusiasts to participate in the ’discovery’ of this mysterious find, challenging themselves with our Monopoly and following the studies of the MANN archaeologists. In fact, we have reached the final stage of the reorganization of the deposits, and excavation operations in this immense heritage continue to hold surprises in store for us. So we wanted to combine the dissemination of the MANN Monopoly with the dissemination of these investigations. And a piece like the vault, with its reference to the coins we may find inside, seemed to us to be the perfect place to start.”

Naples' National Archaeological Museum launches its own edition of Monopoly

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