The scale of the royal palace of Caserta is jaw-dropping, the monumental staircase being the most stupendous feature.
The Palace was built for Charles VII of Naples (one of the Spanish lot) in the mid-eighteenth century, who abdicated in favour of his son, Ferdinand (to take up the Spanish throne when his father died) before he had even spent one night in it.
Paranoid about security and keen to put a little distance between himself and the dirt and crowds of Naples, Charles chose Caserta as the ideal location as it is both away from the coast (and the threat of invasion from the sea) and twenty kilometres distant from the city.
The Palace was designed to rival Versailles – in opulence, it fails, but in terms of size, it wins. In fact, in terms of volume, Caserta is the largest palace in the world. Whether this is a worthwhile aspiration to have for your palace, is debatable.
A huge avenue between Caserta and Naples was designed, but never built.
The bathroom also had a bidet, allegedly the world’s first. This was described in a palace inventory as ‘a guitar-shaped object of unknown use’.
Two of the features that Caserta is especially known for, the gardens (including ‘An English Garden’) and a Court Theatre, were not open yesterday – the garden, due to the wind, and the theatre, as it is only open at the weekends. We will be back.
Tortoise Travel 