Royal Palace and Park in Caserta

I invite you to discover the grandeur and secrets of the grandiose country residence of Neapolitan kings! The residence was commissioned by Charles III as a symbol of the prestige of the Bourbon monarchy. Neapolitan Bourbons explained the need for suburban construction not only for reasons of international prestige, but also because the main royal residence in Naples was open to attacks from the sea. Charles decided to build the so-called “New Versailles”, which was considered at that time the pinnacle of elegance. The palace in Caserta was built by Luigi Vanvitelli, an outstanding architect who had an extraordinary talent to combine space, natural relief and architectural structures. The construction of the palace lasted from 1752 to 1780, the landscape was completely changed, and the city of Caserta was moved to 10 km. The Royal Palace of Caserta is one of the largest buildings erected in Europe in the XVIII century, occupies an area of 45.000 square meters, five floors, 36 m in height, 1200 rooms, 143 windows, 34 stairs on the main facade. Inside, a suite of halls decorated with stucco, carvings, frescoes, sculptures delights: the Astreya Hall, the Mars Hall. The Throne Room is the largest room in the Royal Apartments and was designed to welcome important guests. The main staircase is a masterpiece of Baroque art, it connects the lower and upper lobby, from where the entrance to the royal apartments and the Palatine Chapel opens. In the Old Apartments, there is an old den of Bourbons, who loved this Christmas Neapolitan tradition of installing complex multi-figure compositions on Christmas Day. The Palatine Library is adjacent to the apartments of the Queen, who was a refined and highly educated lady, the room is tastefully decorated with reliefs and frescoes, one of which is made according to the drawing of Vanvitelli himself and reproduces the signs of the zodiac and constellation. The grandeur and beauty of the palace is not inferior to the park with fountains and cascades. The park is a typical example of an Italian garden: extensive lawns and flower beds, ponds, fountains and cascades decorated with large sculptures. The park extends to the top of the hill lying in front of the palace where the English park begins, without a symmetrical layout, created at the request of Maria Carolina of Austria, many local and exotic plants have been planted here, including several magnificent Lebanese cedars. Along with the Royal Palace and the park, UNESCO also included in the World Heritage List the Aqueduct, designed by Luigi Vanvitelli. By the time construction was completed, the fashion to imitate Versailles was in the past. It was the last truly grand palace and park ensemble in the history of Europe. Many Italian and Hollywood films were filmed in the palace (in particular, some scenes of Star Wars, Mission Impossible, The Da Vinci Code, Angels and Demons).