The Royal Palace of Caserta: the Italian Versailles, is one of the most fascinating places in Italy. It was designed by Luigi Vanvitelli and transformed into the residence of the monarch Charles of Bourbon, fascinated by the beauty of Caserta: for security reasons he wanted it far from the sea and the hinterland, but not from Naples. The construction project of the Royal Palace of Caserta went a bit long.
During the famine of 1764, in fact, the palace was used as a shelter for the poor and needy. Meanwhile, Master Vanvitelli died and left the reins of the project in the hands of his son Carlo, who finished it in 1845.
Think that in the construction of this building were employed as many as 3,000 workers, including prisoners as labourers!
Not everyone knows that the Royal Palace of Caserta is the largest palace in the world:
- una surface of 45.000 sqm,
- five floors,
- 1200 luxurious rooms,
- precious frescoes on the ceiling,
- 143 windows
- 34 steps.
The interior of the palace, between splendor and elegance
The work, in addition to being spectacular from a scenic point of view, it is also spectacular at an architectural level, because it combines a variety of styles.
Also for these reasons, in 1997 the Royal Palace of Caserta was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. On the right side of the entrance of the building we find the famous “Grand Staircase“: an elegant staircase 18.50 meters wide, 117 steps long. Immediately we meet the statue of Charles of Bourbon, who sits on the back of a lion, a symbol of courage and truth. Climb the stairs to the upper floor and you can visit the Palatine Church, which clearly originates from the Palace of Versailles.
On the left, you can enter in the royal apartment, characterized by a numerous frontal rooms with large windows, precious furniture in Luigi XVI style, chandeliers, ceiling and wall decorations, and finally many paintings of historical and artistic value.
You can’t lose the Alabarda’s Room, Palace of Guards, Alessandria’s Room, Mars room, Throne Room, Palatine Library and the Theatre of Court.
A little gem: in the elliptical room there is an XVIII Century neapolitan crib with more than 1.200 characters.
The Bourbon were a deeply religion family. From some documents it emerges that the sovereigns often participated actively to the realization of the crib, following the neapolitan typical tradition. Indeed, it seems that Charles of Bourbon, his wife Amalie of Saxony and his son Ferdinand used to finish the making of clothes and place the statues that formed the crib. Just because they were passionate about this wonderful art, the sovereigns decided to create a permanent crib installation in the Elliptical Hall of the Palace of Caserta. Using as characters, statues that represented common people from the most different professions: musicians, shepherds, merchants.
Finally, attached to the Queen’s Apartments , you will find a Palatine Library with more than 14.000 volumes finely decorated with reliefs and murals including the one that reproduces the zodiacal signs and constellations, executed on a design by the same Vanvitelli. In the palace of wonder couldn’t miss a stage worthy of its audience: in the second yard on the left, in fact, we find the Court Theatre, in essence a scale version of Saint Charle’s Theatre of Naples.
After the wonderful view of the interior of the Palace, we advise you to get lost literally in the splendour of the gardens, declared in 2010 the most historical and beautiful gardens of Italy. But we will wrote about this in another article: their greatness and beauty deserve to be protagonists. For a coffe-break you can stop at the food-court situated at the beginning and the end of the palace: you will find one in the interior of the building just before entering the park.
How to get to the Royal Palace of Caserta
The Royal Palace of Caserta is well connected to Naples, so you can easily reach it by car. If you choose not to leave by public transport but choose to reach the Royal Palace by car. Travel with us: NapoliNCC private transfers will take you wherever you want, with flexible schedules and a professional driver at your disposal.
If you want to visit the Royal Palace of Caserta, you can also discover the services offered by Shore Excursion – Tours & Experiences: we can also organize for you a private tour suitable for your needs.
Contact us and we will define together the best solution for you!
To book and arrange a tour or transfer, you can:
visit the official website www.napolincc.com and do everything from there,
call us on +39 081 3417101 or +39 3288058000 (active H24),
send us an email to info@napolincc.com
Our headquarters is in Via Isac Rabin, 9 – 80024 Cardito – NA
