Palace Entry Gate
Grand Staircase
Fountain, rear gardens, Caserta Palace. January 2018
Caserta. The only reason I knew about it by name was from Tim Campbell, an old GU friend, currently a professor of Italian Literature at Cornell. Even then, it was from some very old, pre-internet correspondence (maybe in the Japan years) when he mentioned the place "blew him away". That comment stuck in my mind.... for many years.
My Christmas/New Year vacation to Naples got me close to Caserta and, no doubt, I would have visited even without Tim's comment since it was such an attraction in the area. Whatever the case, it was on my "list" of things to do around Naples, so I was in Napoli Centrale early one morning trying to figure out which train would take me to Caserta. Naples, trains, and I - we were at odds that entire trip. For some reason, I was never 100% sure I was ever on the right train. The ride to Caserta was short and the station was directly by the "grand oval" in front of Caserta Palace.
Caserta was the grandest palace built in the 18th century in all of Europe. Modelled on Versailles (the Bourbons built it, after all), it was intended to be a little "city-state" for the King on his escapes from grimy and potentially politically dangerous Naples. Caserta by "volume" was the largest royal residence ever built in Europe. Although superlative in many ways, I will admit the arrival on an overcast January day by train was underwhelming. The palace was some distance from the station and looked like one huge, flat façade. I arrived just before opening and there was already a small queue of hardy January travelers waiting for entry. I soon bought a ticket to see the interior and the gardens.
Caserta was the summer palace for the King of "the Kingdom of Two Sicilies". (I assumed the Naples area was "the other Sicily") I always got a kick out of the USA being older than "Italy" in terms of the modern state known today. Italy, like Germany, was late to come together and until nearly modern times was divided into north and south with the northern states still nominally controlled by the Pope. Caserta WAS one of the grandest palaces of all of Europe, yet did not receive the praises of Versailles, Schönbrunn , or Sanssouci. After touring it inside and out, I understood Tim's comment. Wow, because it was an amazing place, and double wow because comparatively few people visited.
The interior was luxe de luxe. I wandered from room to room in awe of the opulence. Even though I had not seen a European royal palace for a few years, "grandeur fatigue" set in quickly. The incredible rooms all started to morph into one massive "over the top" experience. In short, I had seen a lot of royal palaces in my life, and since they were almost all based on Versailles (which I had visited), even AMAZING places could get awfully "samey". I exited feeling "opulenced out" and wandered to the rear of the building where the long stretch of gardens began.
The gardens were hopping compared to the palace. I can't remember if they were free or just much cheaper to visit, but even on an overcast January day, there were a lot of visitors. Again, the gardens were copied from Versailles with all its water features - with one major difference. Versailles sat on a hill overlooking its long park; Caserta Palace, conversely, sat at the base of a forested hillock and the water features all cascaded downhill through a series of reflecting pools toward the royal residence. Versailles' gardens may have been the model, but Caserta perfected them. The walk up the hill (a VERY long walk - akin to Windsor Palace) was just a series of water feature after water feature, each a little ode to Greek or Roman mythology. At the top of the hill and off to the right, the "English Garden" was a landscaped park unto itself with "faux ruins" (in Italy???). The gardens of Caserta blew me away. As I wrote this, I had to search for images of the interior of Caserta to be sure I ACTUALLY visited (when I saw the images, I remembered I had). There was no doubt, however, that I did visit the gardens. They remain a clear memory in my aging brain. Dare I say, the best palace gardens in Europe? I am not sure, but at least in the top five.
As with many places I visited - a throwaway comment from a friend stuck in my mind and proved worth the time!
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