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When we speak of caserta in the middle ages, we refer to
caserta vecchia, the small town we have just visited. The new town,
simply called caserta, which is one of the most prosperous and thriving
provincial centres in campania, at that time did not even exist. it was
Charles III of Bourbon who, in the eighteeth century, decided to build
the "versailles" of his kingdom in this fertile region of the
"terra di lavoro", which at that period was not easily
accessible.
Caserta is in fact his royal palace. this architectural masterpiece was
designed by Luigi Vanvitelli, and comprises 1.200 rooms connected by 34
staircases and illuminated by 1.970 windows.
From above, we can see a vast neoclassical facade and four courtyards
divided by two sections of the palace crossing each other at right
angles. Gallery slaves and mohammedan prisoners were employed in its
construction. with the refined elegance of its style, the royal palace
is an outstanding example of the taste and decorative skills which
characterized a period of high civilisation in naples. Unfortunately,
our bird's eye view allows us only to guess at the breathtaking
theatrical effects of the grand staircases, the vaulted ceilings with
their frescoes, the sight of the apartments stretching away, exquisitely
decorated by the most accomplished neapolitan artists of the day, nor
can we admire the little court theatre, a veritable gem, in which works
by paisiello and cimarosa were performed. in compensation for this loss,
however, our vantage point enables us to take in the entire grandiose
sweep of the great park forming part of the royal estate. It is three
kilometres long and it is divided down the centre by the watercourse of
a monumental fountain, whose ascent stars slightly above on the slope of
the hill, at the boundary of the park, where there is a delightful
artificial waterfall spanned by the picturesque bridge of hercules. Further above, there is the dolphins' waterfall, whose waters plunge
into the fountain of aeolus, adorned with numerous statues, and still
furter up, there is the fountain of ceres and the fountain of venus and
adonis, designed by Salomone. Finally, there is the great waterfall with
its two marble groups showing actaeon at the moment of being transformed
by the goddess Diana into a stag. Walking along beside the cascade, we
can reach the caroline aqueduct, which was also designed by Vanvitelli.
according to the initial project, which was never completely carried
out, the water of these cascades was to have reached the queen's baths,
supplied the two military establishments flanking the palace where the
munitions were stored ( the "regie palle" or "royal
cannonballs" ), and finally run parallel to the great Naples road,
thus making it possible to reach the Royal Palace of capodimonte by
boat.
Concealed among the trees in the wood, we can glimpse the castelluccio,
a nineteenth century "mediaeval" folly. There remains to point
out the large fishpond and the two marvellous botanical areas, both rich
in rare and exotic plants the english garden and the wood of S. Silvestro. |