Royal Palace of Caserta
Caserta has the largest royal palace in the world in terms of volume, listed in 1997 as World Heritage Site by UNESCO, together with the Vanvitelli Aqueduct and the San Leucio Complex.
The Royal Palace of Caserta stands at the foot of the Tifatini Mountains, where there was a small village and a pyramidal tower.
The construction took place because of military and administrative reorganization of the Kingdom of Naples. The main intent was to give the kingdom a new capital far from the sea and also to give greater prestige with a new palace, greater than Versailles Palace.
Charles VII of Naples, from the Bourbon House, entrusted the ambitious project to the Neapolitan architect Luigi Vanvitelli.
The first stone of the palace was laid on 20 January 1752 which was almost completed a century later in 1847. Its construction involved a very high number of workers, and also applied the use of precious materials such as tuff from San Nicola La Strada, travertine from Bellona, lime from San Leucio, brick from Capua, gray marble from Mondragone and white marble from Carrara.
The skills of Vanvitelli are immediately evident in the architectural complex, the Royal Palace has an immense space and consists in a square front, the Park and the English Garden.
Inside, there are about 1,200 rooms with 1,742 windows on 5 floors, covering an area of 44 thousand square meters, 34 stairs and 1026 fireplaces.
There are 4 courtyards at the entrance, one of them leads to the Staircase, also known as the Honour Grand Staircase, a large ramp that split in two parts, and leads to the vestibule, a sort of octagonal landing area with 4 large windows that faces onto the courtyard with a very suggestive visual effect.
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Structure
Royal Apartaments:
The visit begins here with the Room of Alabardieri, where the windows highlights the brown stone, the gold crowns, festoons and Bourbon lilies. Domenico Mondo decorated the central vault in 1785, representing The Triumph of Bourbon Arms.
They are 30 rooms that deserve to be admired.
The Pinacoteca:
The Pinacoteca is characterized by a series of rooms made by various Italian and Dutch artists from the 19th Century. In the Quadreria, however, you can admire the portraits of the Bourbon family from both Italy and France and their genealogical tree.
Palantine Chapel:
Is accessible from the upper vestibule without entering the royal apartments. This place was created to celebrate the sacred rites of the Royal family. But more than a worship place it looks like a reception hall for the rich presence of fine marble and pictorial decorations.
The Library:
The library has five rooms, three for the thousands volumes collection and two rooms for readers.
The feeling you feel when visiting this complex is to be in a place out of time where luxury, pomp and wealth reign.