**NEW: Regal Caserta Deserves a Detour - Where Star Wars and Angels & Demons Were Filmed (Free Italy Travel Advice)**
(NOTE: Screenweek.it has a photo of an Angels & Demons
scene being filmed on the famous staircase at Reggia di
Caserta. Here's another shot
of the movie being filmed at the palace.)This article originally appeared in a previous issue of Dream
of Italy You can be forgiven if you have
never heard of Caserta -- or if
you feel like you have, but
aren't quite sure why. Its Campanian
cousins -- Pompeii, Sorrento, Amalfi --
have long overshadowed this small
city 20 miles north of Naples. While
Italian tourists provide a steady
stream of visitors, foreigners have yet
to take full notice of this historic gem.
Caserta's relative fame comes from a
palace known as "the Versailles of
Italy" -- the 1200-room Reggia di
Caserta. And the nickname isn't an
exaggeration. Some who have visited
both world-famous palaces argue that
the Royal Palace of Caserta's opulent
décor and expansive gardens surpass
those of the extravagant French
palace.
Indeed, Versailles was what the
Bourbon Charles IV of Naples had in
mind when he bought the village of
Caserta from the noble Caetani family
of Sermonta. He said he wanted to
build a palace rivaling that of his
grandfather's -- who happened to be
Louis XIV, the creator of Versailles.
Charles chose Caserta for its fertile
soil, fresh air and a location decidedly
away from the sea. Naples proved too
vulnerable a capital as the English
navy had bombed the city in 1743.
Charles IV worked closely with architect
Luigi Vanvitelli to create a design
for the palace and construction began
on the king's 36th birthday, January
20, 1752. Up to 2681 people worked
on the building simultaneously. Five
stories tall, the palace contains 243
windows, 43 staircases and four giant courtyards. No wonder it wasn't considered
even somewhat complete until
1774, during the reign of Ferdinand IV,
the son of Charles IV. Vanvitelli died in
1773, but his son Carlo took over the
supervision of construction. It wasn't
until 1847 that the palace's throne
room was finished.
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Allot plenty of time to visit the royal
apartments, because they are worth
viewing in detail. Tours start at the
state staircase where the stairways are
so immense, that apparently (cringe)
American troops drove jeeps up and
down them during World War II.
The Reggia di Caserta served as a rest
area, headquarters for the American
5th Army and 15th Army and the
center for Allied Command at various
times during the war. In fact, on
April 29, 1945, German forces in Italy
surrendered to the Supreme Allied
Commander in the Mediterranean in
a 17-minute ceremony at the palace.
Across from the top of the stairs is the
palatine chapel, which the king wanted
to resemble the chapel at Versailles.
Unfortunately, this gilded place of worship
is often closed. If you get in, look
for the masterpiece, The Immaculate
Conception by Giuseppe Bonito, hanging
over the altar. Several other paintings by Bonito, Conca and Mengs, were
destroyed when the palace was
bombed on September 23, 1943.
Damage to several of the chapel's
columns has remained unfixed as a
reminder of the war.
The royal apartments feature the finest
paintings, frescoes, woodwork, tapestries,
fabrics and furniture imaginable.
Five antechambers lead to the golden
throne room, the largest room in the
palace, which remained undecorated
for its first five decades, during the
time the Kingdom of Naples passed from the Bourbons to the French and
back to the Bourbons. (Joachim Murat
of the Bonapartes ruled from 1808 to
1815.) Murat is conveniently left out
of the room's frieze containing
medallions of the kings of Naples.
The private apartments of the kingdom's
rulers provide unique views of
court life, with far too many attributes
than can be described here. For example,
Francis II's bedroom contains the
first known example of a roll-top desk.
Alexander's rooms are decorated with
colorful allegories of the Four Seasons
by Antonio de Dominici and Fedele
Fischetti. The library, containing 10,000
volumes, also houses a conical turning
bookshelf, designed so that Queen
Maria Carolina could read several books
without getting out of her seat.
Back to the ground floor, the palace
theater, a smaller replica of Teatro San
Carlo in Naples, is the only part of the
palace completed entirely under the
direction of Luigi Vanvitelli. The horseshoe-
shaped auditorium was inaugurated
in 1769 by Ferdinand IV and
has been painstakingly restored to its
original form.
On a sunny day especially, the beauty
of the palace's exterior may rival that of its interior. The 300 lush acres of
parkland (designed by Martin
Blancour) feature waterworks and fountains
among various gardens. The highlight
of Caserta's park is the great cascade,
a waterfall 225 feet high flowing
towards the palace from the
opposite
end of
the
park.
If your
stay permits,
visit Belvedere
San Leucio, a
former hunting
lodge turned
social experiment,
founded
by Ferdinand IV in 1789. Ferdinand
hired Vanvitelli student Francesco
Collecini to widen San Leucio and to
turn it predominantly into a royal silk
mill (although maintaining a royal
apartment, complete with an indoor
swimming pool) and establish an
industry for the locals.
By 1823, the neo-classic structure contained
silk mills, a cocoon warehouse,
housing for the mill manager and
parish priest, spinning rooms and a
school. Workers were housed across the street. Ferdinand established rules
for how his subjects should live and
work together. San Leucio became
famous around the world as one of the
first attempts at Enlightenment-inspired
rural socialism. Even today,
local workshops continue to produce
some of the world's finest silk, which
has been used to decorate the White
House and Buckingham Palace.
From the terrace of San Leucio,
visitors can look out over to the city of
Caserta and see the royal palace.
These two buildings have so many
stories to tell. History lovers won't be
disappointed.
Worth a Stop
Enoteca La Botte
Via Nazionale Appia,
168/180
Casagiove Caserta
(39) 0823 468130
www.enotecalabotte.it
With 2000 labels representing wines
from Campania to California, this specialty
wine and food shop located within walking
distance of the palace, is considered one
of southern Italy's best.The Ricciardi family
can lead you in tasting local products, such
as Fiano di Avellino wine, fresh mozzarella
di buffala and one of the region's more
recent delicacies, buffalo meat.
Getting There
Caserta's train station is a stone's
throw from the palace, making a
visit an attractive day trip from
Naples.The journey takes about
30 minutes. Caserta is also a stop
on the Rome to Naples intercity
train line (about a 2-hour ride).
For more information, visit
www.trenitalia.com.
Where to Stay
Jolly Hotel Caserta
Viale Vittorio Veneto, 9
(39) 0823 325222
www.jollyhotels.com
Many of the rooms in this 4-star property
have views over the palace and park.
Rates: 110 to 150 euros per room, per night.
Photo credits: Top - Mikuzz, Flickr.com View of Staircase - pietro.zampella, Flickr.com
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