The Royal Palace of Caserta — Tuljak! Travel Blog

When I was researching our trip to Southern Italy, one place caught my imagination from the get-go: the Royal Palace of Caserta (Reggia di Caserta). Located in Caserta, a northern suburb of Naples, this palace is by some metrics the largest residential royal palace in Europe and is often dubbed the “Versailles of South.” And yet, it is often overlooked by travelers and is seldom visited by Americans. As a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Caserta doesn’t even make it on many of those “places to visit lists” for Naples. So I was curious as to why that is.

The garden of the Royal Palace of Caserta just looks a place of dream.

King Charles VII, the King of Naples, was the mastermind behind this palace. The Kingdom of Naples and Sicily had always been the “Stanley Cup of the Mediterranian,” getting passed from one major power to another. In the 18th century, it was the turn of the House of Bourbon from modern-day France. Given what we know about the Neapolitans nowadays, it is difficult to see they could bow to foreign rules. Charles VII was one of the most “enlightened” monarchs in Europe. His reign is noted for numerous political and economic reforms, which made him incredibly popular with the populace. The king streamlined many of the Kingdom’s bureaucracies and instituted a system of functional judiciary.

Among his reforms, perhaps the most notable is what the historian called the principle of “Regalism.” The monarch exerted supremacy over the church and classified the clergy as a professional class, just like businessmen or carpenters. In particular, Charles VII took a hard line against the entrenched interest of the clergy by stripping away the church’s tax exemption on a large swatch of the kingdom’s lands. Logically, the reform led to the development of industries and a full coffer to the state treasury. And what better way to showcase this newfound wealth than the construction of the largest palace in Europe?

Because the Royal Palace was located on the waterfront in central Naples, it was highly susceptible to foreign invasion and periodic riots. But the most sinister threat might be Mount Vesuvius, an ever-present menace that could wipe out the entire city in minutes. It was no wonder why Charles VII would look elsewhere to construct his grand palace. For his palace, Charles VII looked to Versailles for inspiration and looked to outdo the Sun King. And just like Versailles, Caserta started out as a humble hunting lodge before the ultimate makeover.

The first thing that would impress visitors about the palace in Caserta would be its sheer scale. Unlike Versailles, the palace is laid out in a grid pattern resembling a solid block of heavy mass. It reads more like a foreboding fortress than a pleasure palace. The palace facades bear the signature of neo-Renaissance elements, such as alternating pediments and fluted pilasters. The balustraded skyline and almost monotonous facade are designed to display the power of the absolute monarchy. The design reminded me a lot of the Royal Palace of Madrid, albeit on an overwhelming scale.

Honestly, I still have no idea what these people were queuing for.

In projecting absolute political powers, the forecourt of the palace complex has the layout and scale of a military parade ground. Lucky for visitors, beneath the ground is a massive multi-level parking lot. We all know how difficult parking can be. This is perhaps the one historic sight in the country with no more parking than visitors. And regarding logistics, the admission to the palace complex is quite straightforward. Visitors can choose how much of the palace they wish to visit. Like most visitors, we visited the “Royal Park” and the “Royal Apartment.” Such a combo ticket costs €16 each, and I don’t believe reservations would be necessary for most days.

Once past the main entrance, we were funneled into the palace's massive ground-level arcade. It was clear that the space was designed for horse carriages. Given the distance, I doubt the king did much walking here during his time. With four identical internal courtyards, the relentless symmetry of this place was overwhelming. I suspect we were not alone in getting disorientated around here. Thankfully, visitors are naturally drawn to the dramatic vista of the palace garden, arguably the star attraction of the whole palace complex.

The Royal Park

As grand as the palace's architecture may be, the royal garden is truly a class of its own. The garden was conceived as a singular scenographic monument covering an area of thirty acres. The garden's centerpiece is the Way of the Water (Via d’Acqua), composed of linear fountains and reflecting pools. What makes the landscape design particularly impressive is the so-called “telescoping effect.” The farther a pool is away from the palace, the narrower the width. The arrangement creates an exaggerated perspective and makes the garden appear even longer than it is in reality.

All in all, the total length of the waterway is just under two miles. And if Google Maps were to be believed, it would take 35 minutes to cover that distance on foot. While that may not sound that far, it was less appealing under the sun in the 96°F heat. Luckily, the palace administrator is aware of this challenge and provides a handy bus to shuttle visitors from the palace building to the end of the garden. The €2 roundtrip fare is worth every cent. In addition, there is also a rental bike service available, albeit at a higher cost. For those who would love to explore the less-visited section of the gardens, bike rental would be a great option.

This group definitely made this shuttle bus ride memorable.

Our ride was particularly interesting because we shared the bus with a group of Italians dressed in period dresses. We couldn’t determine whether they were a group of friends or part of a commercial shoot. Seeing how ladies struggled to get on the bus with their enormous outfits was hilarious. It also gave me a great perspective of how impractical these outfits were back then. I even had to be jumped over a few dressed to get to our seats. Based on their facial expression, they probably regretted getting in those dresses on a hot summer day. I am glad that we live in the 21st century.

The shuttle whisked us through the whole length of the garden.

In five minutes, we were dropped off at the end of the garden. The view back to the palace was even more dramatic. The higher elevation makes the water surfaces of these reflective pools more visible. It was photographs of this view that intrigued me from the beginning. It is the most monumental and dramatic garden landscape I have visited. Compared to Versailles, the vista here appears more dramatic because of the narrow width of the visual corridor and the dramatic change of elevations. The sense of drama was further by the presence of our period-dressed friends.

Among the impressive fountains, the most dramatic and interesting would be the Fountain of Diana and Actaeon. Composed of hundreds of small cascades, the fountain is the most unique feature in Caserta and the ultimate example of forced perspective. The cascades are steep, and it was unfortunate the visitors would not be allowed to climb to the top due to the ongoing restoration work during our visit. Oddly enough, the visual effect of this fountain was less dramatic up close. But up close, we were able to admire the two monumental sculptural groups: one of Diana and the other of Actaeon.

The grand cascades of the Fountain of Diana and Actaeon.

The story of Actaeon is quite interesting. Actaeon is a Greek mythology character and symbol of tragedy and irony. He was an able hunter but ran into the wrath of Artemis (or Diana in the Roman world). According to the story, Actaeon spied on Artemis bathing in a pool. Furious, Artemis turned Actaeon into a stag. In a matter of seconds, the hunter was transformed into the hunted and was brutally swallowed by his own packs. According to the palace’s official guidebook, the cult of Diana and Actaeon was particularly popular in and around Caserta because of the abundance of woodlands in the area.

The massive English Garden was just to the right of the Fountain of Diana and Actaeon. As the name suggests, the garden was done with the so-called English style, which is far less formal. The end goal of an English Garden is to emulate the natural landscape through careful placement and layering of greeneries. While appearing “natural,” it was indeed a highly manicured garden. Interestingly, this garden was commissioned by Charles VII’s daughter-in-law, Queen Maria Carolina of Austria. Nowadays, she is best known for being the sister of Marie Antoinette, the infamous Queen of France. It was no coincidence that Maria Carolina constructed the English Garden while her sister built the equally impressive Petit Trianon in Versailles. We did not linger long here because we did not pay for admission to this part of the garden.

To enjoy the beauty of the palace garden, we decided not to take the shuttle back to the palace and had a leisurely stroll instead. We had a better appreciation for the grandeur of Caserta on foot. In total, there are three major fountains/reflecting pools. Of course, each one bears special allegorical meanings that I did not bother to learn about, to be honest. We were just very grateful that there were enough shades along the edge. Perhaps the most surprising thing about our visit was the lack of visitors. Especially since we were there at the beginning of the summer high season, it makes me wonder just how deserted this place is during winter.

The Fountain of Aeolus is four times the size of the Trevi Fountain in Rome.

Considering how low the visitor count is here, I am impressed by how nicely maintained the park is. While I would not say Caserta is as manicured as New York’s Central Park or Paris’s Luxembourg Gardens, we were thoroughly impressed by the state of preservation. According to the guidebook, the people of Caserta took pride in their palace and have been great stewards historically. When the palace ceased to be a royal residence in 1860, the locals took over maintaining the world’s largest palace. It must have been a herculean task for such a small community. It was not until 1919 that the Italian state officially took over as the official custodian of the palace.

Few visitors actually dared to explore the ground under the intense afternoon sun.

As we got closer to the palace, its style changed. A circular fountain with a single water spout seemed like a refreshing change from the near monotony of the upper garden. Looking at the garden map, it was apparent that we had only explored a small fraction of the entire park. Besides the English Garden, which we visited earlier, two other sections of formal gardens are hidden away. Anyone could easily spend a whole afternoon in the garden if time permits. But by this point, most of us were exhausted by the heat and longed for the refuge of the palace interior.

The Royal Apartments

With the palace garden behind us, we finally explored the palace interior. As mentioned previously, this is the largest royal palace by volume. The statistics of the palace are impressive. With five floors and twelve hundred rooms, the palace has 742 windows, 34 staircases, and 1,026 fireplaces. The building was the royal family's home and housed numerous state institutions, including the naval academy, a royal library, and a full-size theater. There is no question that visitors like us were only allowed to see a small fraction of the rooms. I wonder how many rooms were actually in any presentable state.

The entrance to the Royal Apartment is through the massive ceremonial entrance. At the bottom of the staircase is a massive Hercules statue called Farnese Hercules. It is the largest sculpture ever discovered from antiquity and arguably the most important work in the Farnese Collection. The Farnese, a papal family, was later married into the House of Bourbon, which explains why the sculpture found its home here. It was not until much later that the sculpture in Caserta is a replica. The original is now safely housed in Naple’s main archaeology museum.

The massive staircase is one of the most ingenious Baroque spaces. Just like the garden, this stair has a similar telescoping effect. As we ascended the staircase, the tread's depth got shorter, making the staircase appear steeper and more awe-inspiring. The varying treads also forced visitors to slow down and proceed with caution. In turn, it forces all of us to show a level of respect toward this place. Flanking the central platform are two life-size lions, symbolizing strength and reason as the foundation of the Kingdom of Naples. During our visit, the security staff had to refrain visiting from touching these lions. I suspect these lions may hold some special significance in Italy.

The ceremonial Grand Staircase is the film set for the 2009 movie *Angels and Demons*.

The palace is a popular location for film production. Some of the most recent productions include Hulu’s The Great and Netflix’s Two Popes. Fans of Star Wars movies might be able to recognize the staircase as the stand-in for the Royal Palace of Naboo in the 1999 movie The Phantom Menace. As someone who has never seen a single Star Wars movie, I was more excited about the association with the movie Angels and Demons. The movie was based on Dan Brown’s bestseller and was set in Rome. However, given the nature of Dan Brown’s works, the Catholic Church forbade having their properties used for filming. The Royal Palace of Caserta, particularly the grand staircase, was the stand-in for the Vatican. In the film, this was where all the cardinals gathered on the way to the Sistine Chapel. Because the palace is owned and administered by the Italian state, there was no issue with renting the space out for a “sacrilegious" production like this.

At the top of the grand staircase is the Upper Vestibule, the architectural center of the whole building. From here, the paths radiate out in four directions. Straight ahead is the Palatine Chapel, the grand private chapel of the royal family. Luigi Vanvitelli modeled the chapel after the royal chapel in Versailles. Interestingly, Vanvitelli considered the Versailles Chapel as crude and awkward. His design has a much more generous proportion and is credited with the seamless synthesis of three styles: Neo-classical, Mannerist, and Baroque. The space reminds me of Bernini’s Sant'Andrea al Quirinale in Rome.

Like much of the palace, the chapel was severely damaged during World War II. Specifically, the Allies’ air forces did a number at this place. The scars of war were deliberately preserved as a memorial to the trauma of wars. Several damaged Corinthian columns remained along the upper loggia, and they are perhaps some of the palace's most interesting features. Much of the original artwork inside the chapel was lost during the war, with the altarpiece, the Immaculate Conception by Giuseppe Bonito, being the only original piece being the original.

The Royal Palace of Caserta was the headquarters of the Allied forces during much of the campaign. Speaking of war, one of the most consequential events occurred here in the palace on 29 April 1945. The Italian Social Republic and Nazi Germany signed the formal surrender of their forces within the Italian peninsula, ending 22 months of bloodbath across the country. The Axis surrender here allows the Allies to drive toward Berlin on the northern front.

The Royal Apartment is located in the southern section of the palace. Like similar royal residences of that time, there is no public corridor. Rather, one must pass from one ceremonious room to another. It was difficult to track them as each is just as ostentatious as any other. However, I specifically remembered Mar’s Room because of my first name, Aries. After half a dozen rooms, we arrived at the Throne Room, Caserta's most politically important space. Interestingly, this room was among the last rooms to be finished, and it was not completed until 1845, 60 years after the death of King Charles VII. He did not even spend a night in the palace. He abdicated the throne of Naples in 1759 to take the throne as the King of Spain.

Of course, it would not be a throne room without a royal throne. But visitors would be quite disappointed by the little chair at the end of the room. It was, for sure, the most underwhelming throne I have ever seen. It was even less impressive than a mid-century “peacock chair.” According to the guidebook, the chair was produced during the Bourbon restoration after the Napoleonic Wars. It was probably a token reproduction of an earlier model.

My favorite artifacts in the palace would be a small collection of architectural models stored in a small chamber just off the Throne Room. Among them are models of all the spaces we have visited: the Throne Room, the Grand Staircase, and the Palatine Chapel. Luigi Vanvitelli and his son Carlo created these models. Unlike today, accurately scaled architectural models were rare back in the day. I wonder whether these were created to show the king or serve as a blueprint for the construction team. As an architect, I only wished we stayed there longer.

The Spring Room of the Rooms of Seasons.

Honestly, it was very easy to get mental fatigue with all the richly decorated rooms. As much as we wished to appreciate each room, we inevitably felt the urge to press on. It was a shame that no audio guide system was in place. Among my favorite rooms are the so-called Rooms of the Seasons. This part of the palace was the apartment of Crown Prince Ferdinand and Princess Maria Carolina. As the name suggests, each room is inspired by a specific season and is filled with architectural symbolism. But what caught my eye is a series of paintings depicting Naples, including a steaming Vesuvius.

I particularly enjoyed paintings of the pastoral landscape around the Naples.

Perhaps one of the most unusual exhibits in the palace is the so-called “Bourbon Nativity.“ It was displayed in the middle of a dark room and was undoubtedly a nativity display on steroids. It was probably four times larger than any other nativity scene I have ever seen in person. The nativity displays are particularly popularly popular in Naples. The craftsmanship of Neopolitan nativity reached its zenith during the reign of Charles VII. The royal nativity of the Bourbon dynasty was among the most elaborate ever created.

Modeled after the nativity scheme from 1844, the current display was assembled in 1988. It was a three-in-one display of the story of the nativity. Meanwhile, the central figures were the works of local artists and master craftsmen. Ladies-in-waiting of the royal court often did the lesser figures and many animals. What made it particularly compelling is its incorporation of native Neopolitan life. From African slaves to Muslim traders, the display is a vivid illustration of the cosmopolitan life of Naples. It may just be one of the most beautiful time capsules of Naples.

The “Bourbon Nativity” is definitely worthy of closer examination.

If you have been to Versailles, chances are that you came across a few works of contemporary art, such as those of Salvador Dalí or Damien Hirst. The juxtaposition between contemporary art and traditional architecture was sublime. I suspect the Royal Palace of Caserta took a page from its famous cousin. Displayed in the royal library are some thought-provoking works. Unfortunately, we did not get to have time to contemplate the arts. With still a three-hour drive ahead of us, we reluctantly wrapped up our visit. But we were offered one last pique of the Grand Staircase before we went. It was a proper send-off.

The Aqueduct of Vanvitelli

When we left the palace, it was already six o’clock in the afternoon. With two more hours’ drive ahead of us, Brian and Mary were eager to get the show on the road. On the other hand, I was determined to visit another monument: the Aqueduct of Vanvitelli. Commissioned by King Charles VII, the 23-mile road was purpose-built to supply the fountains of the new royal palace. The system took nine years to complete and was considered an engineering triumph. Although it was not massive or ancient like Pont du Gare or the Aqueduct of Segovia, the three-tiered aqueduct is impressive. Perhaps the most interesting thing is that a modern expressway runs through the base of the aqueduct.

Along with the royal palace and the nearby work colony of San Leucio, the aqueduct was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. Located fifteen minutes from the palace, the aqueduct was not a tourism hotspot. The only other visitors were one local couple smoking cigarettes during our visit. The snob within me felt privileged to have this world heritage site all to ourselves. Truth be told, I must admit that I might not have visited the aqueduct without the UNESCO designation. I assure you that the Royal Palace of Caserta (and the Vanvitelli Aqueduct) would be a highlight of your visit to Naples.

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What About The Royal Palace of Caserta?

The Royal Park

The Royal Apartments

The Aqueduct of Vanvitelli

Preparing For My First Camino

The Case For Lecce