Reggia di Caserta: una gioia per gli occhi Le Guide di Paestum e Velia en
Charles, the king of Naples, had a dream: to build a royal palace as symbol of his family’s power that would rival with the most beautiful buildings in Europe. In 1752, he entrusted the project to the brilliant architect Luigi Vanvitelli. The result was spectacular: a monumental complex located in a fertile plain, not far from Naples, the capital of the Kingdom. He realized a magnificent palace and a huge, elegant park.
The imposing royal palace has a surface of approximately 47 thousand square meters. It is a rectangular block 247mt long, 184mt wide and 42mt high; there are 1200 rooms, 1742 windows and 34 stairs. Incredible numbers that make of it the largest royal residence in the world.
The palace is a stunning, surprising baroque monument
Impressive are the two big marble lions near the imposing staircase at the entrance. They symbolize the strength of reason and the power of weapons: a perfect combination for the security of the kingdom.
In the past, the staircase was used by the guests of the king and queen to reach the court theater, the palatine chapel and the splendid apartments. While climbing the stairs, they could listen to an extraordinary concert, directed by the famous teacher Paisiello. The apartments are two: the old one for the king Ferdinand IV and his wife Maria Carolina, and the new for the King Joachim Murat.
There are still polychrome marbles, stuccos, frescoes, paintings, furnitures, chandeliers, mirrors, the silk of the Royal industries in San Leucio, an exciting Neapolitan nativity, that saw the participation of the king and the court, and even a bidet, the first bidet in Italian history. The palace is an incredible concentration of treasures.
The huge royal park behind the palace is a green area of 120 hectares, 3 kilometers long. It was also used for hunting, one of the King’s most favorite hobbies.
There are two gardens: the Italian one and the English one.
The first one is a continuous succession of basins and fountains adorned with valuable sculptural groups representing deities and mythological scenes. At the end of the sequence there is the most beautiful of the fountains, embellished with statues of Diana and Actaeon and a great waterfall. The water comes from the gorgeous aqueduct, another architectural and engineering masterpiece by Vanvitelli. The second one is the romantic English garden, a truly enchanting place, boasting an infinite botanical variety, small lakes of water and ruins, in memory of Pompeii’s rediscovery.
HUGE, IMPOSING,MAGNIFICENT: this is the palace with its park, Unesco heritage since 1997.