Nice place 97 – Royal Palace of Caserta
The Royal Palace of Caserta is actually the largest royal residence in the world, with 1200 rooms against the only 700 of Versailles. In 1750 Charles of Bourbon (1716-1788) decided to build the Royal Palace as an alternative administrative center to the Kingdom of Naples, now autonomous and free from Spanish hegemony, in order to achieve a decentralization of power and protect against any invasions from the sea. The choice of the place where the new administrative capital of the Kingdom would be built fell on the plain of Terra di Lavoro, on the ancient feud of Caserta. The project was entrusted to the already well-known Luigi Vanvitelli, who began work on 20 January 1752.
Worthy of note is the large garden surrounding the Royal Palace of Caserta, a long walk among the fountains, basins and fishponds decorated with numerous statues depicting scenes from classical mythology. There is also an English garden adorned with thousands of plants from all over the world; right here, in a paradisiacal corner at the extreme foothills of the garden and the Royal Palace is the Bath of Venus, an oasis of rare beauty in a secluded and enchanted place, where a statue of the goddess of beauty peeps out among the plants, a sensual composition commissioned by Queen Maria Carolina herself.
In 1997 the Royal Palace of Caserta was declared by UNESCO, together with the aqueduct of Vanvitelli and the complex of San Leucio, world heritage site.
Photo: Carlo Pelagalli, CC BY-SA 3.0, bit.ly/2QTmmBS
Autore
Appassionato fin da piccolo di computer e tecnologia, sono programmatore per lavoro e per passione. Ho una laurea magistrale in Informatica conseguita all’Università di Bologna. Co-ideatore e sviluppatore di Nice Places.
