Caserte the “Neapolitan Versailles”

When Italy was not yet united, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, whose capital was Naples, had its Versailles: the splendid palace of Caserta, surrounded by enchanting gardens. Today, this vast estate delights tourists who come there seeking freshness and wonder, without thinking that it is the largest royal residence in the world.

In 1751, Charles de Bourbon, great-grandson of Louis XIV, who reigned over Naples and Sicily, expressed the desire to build a residence capable of rivaling that of his superb ancestor. Even the distance from the regional capital is similar: around twenty kilometers from Naples, like Versailles from Paris. Sheltered from enemy excursions on the coasts, the chosen site (1) is located quite far from Vesuvius and the sea, offering protection in the event of an eruption of the volcano. As Charles Percier and Pierre Fontaine, architects of Napoleon I, wrote, the king “wanted to make in this place renowned throughout time for its delights, for the healthiness of the air, the fertility of the soil, its forests, and the amenities countryside by which it is surrounded, a country dwelling which was to surpass in size and magnificence all the residences of the other potentates of Europe.

Like the French model, the sovereign intends to transfer both his court and the main administrations of the kingdom there. To this end, he plans to connect Naples and Caserta by a monumental avenue drawn up with a straight line. Nowadays, Viale Carlo III di Borbone fulfills this role. A 19th-century traveler notes that anyone who wants to enjoy the perspective offered by the Palace of Caserta must see it when coming from Naples: “A mile away he can already see its immense facade, and especially this beautiful waterfall which rushes down from a height of three miles, and draws a line of foam more dazzling than the snow. Caserta is the Versailles of Naples, built by Charles III, the Louis XIV of this kingdom, who had to overcome the same difficulties, and who, like his model, spent millions. »

An architect's dream

The famous architect and landscaper Luigi Vanvitelli, of Dutch origin, was at the height of his art and enjoyed an established reputation after having directed major works in Urbino, Rome, Naples, and Ancona. His project immediately appealed to Charles de Bourbon, who found his dreams of grandeur and power there. The first stone of the Royal Palace of Caserta (Reggia di Caserta) was laid on January 20, 1752, the king's thirty-sixth birthday. In the following years, the walls rose rapidly. However, in 1759, the monarch was called upon to wear another crown and became Charles III of Spain. He leaves Naples and its new unfinished palace, leaving behind only the first floor of the main building and the outline of the park.

Charles' third son, who succeeded him on the Neapolitan throne under the name of Ferdinand IV, was only eight years old at the time. The regency council, chaired by minister Bernardo Tanucci, preached economy and vetoed the architect's requests. But nature gets involved: in 1767, an eruption of Vesuvius gave so much fright to the king who resided at the Portici palace, too close to the volcano, that he ordered the resumption of work in Caserta. The following year, Ferdinand married Maria Caroline of Austria; in his company, he inaugurated the Great Waterfall. This whimsical and spineless sovereign also created the new town of Caserta and the silk factory of San Leucio, which became a small colony, which he often visited.

From Bourbons to Bonapartes

After the architect died in 1773, the project continued under the direction of Carlo Vanvitelli, son of Luigi, who was forced to scale back his father's project for financial reasons. He uses Italian stones: San Nicola tuff, Bellona travertine, San Leucio limestone, Bacoli pozzolan, Mondragone gray marble, and Carrara white marble. The royal couple resided regularly in the palace from 1780 until the French invasion. The queen spent a lot to decorate the palace to create an art gallery and assemble a porcelain collection.

In 1798, after the hasty departure of Ferdinand IV to Sicily with his entire court, French soldiers took over the domain. Their commander-in-chief Jean-Étienne Championnet established his headquarters there. The republic is proclaimed in Naples, and a new era begins. The French left a few months later, while the Bourbon supporters, helped by the English, began a major offensive. Defeated patriots were executed, imprisoned, or exiled. Ferdinand and Marie-Caroline recover their pacified but damaged kingdom. However, their return was short-lived. A new French parenthesis opened in 1806 with the arrival of Joseph Bonaparte, brother of Napoleon, who girded the Neapolitan crown. Two years later, he was replaced by his brother-in-law Joachim Murat, husband of Caroline Bonaparte. The flamboyant cavalier shows himself to be a sovereign sensitive to the arts. He hired architects and artists to carry out major works in Caserta, a residence he loved. His wife often comes there too and enjoys retiring with her ladies to a charming little castle in the park; placing sentries in the gatehouses and raising the drawbridge, she supports a formal siege against the king and the dignitaries of his court, amid bursts of laughter.

In 1815, the fall of the Napoleonic Empire led to the restoration of the Bourbons. The king changes his number and becomes Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies. It was in Caserta that, on December 8, 1816, he signed the act of unification of the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily, thus creating the largest state on the Italian peninsula. He orders the removal of everything reminiscent of Murat – whom he had shot – while keeping the Empire furniture in the Alexandre room.

Stendhal went there in 1817 and found the palace far below its reputation: “I have just traveled thirty useless miles. Caserta is just a barracks in a position as thankless as Versailles. Because of earthquakes, the walls are five feet thick: this means, like in Saint-Pierre, that it is hot in winter and cool in summer. Murat tried to finish this palace: the paintings are even worse than in Paris, but the decorations are more grandiose. »

Symbol of a vanished kingdom

In the 19th century, Caserta entered modernity. In 1844, Ferdinand II had the “flying chair” built there, a prototype of the elevator, which saved the almost obese sovereign from going up and down the stairs. The buildings were definitively completed in 1847. Inside, we can distinguish the old apartments (dating from the end of the 18th century) and the new apartments (built at the beginning of the 19th century), of impressive richness: silks, tapestries, mirrors, and expensive furniture. However, the palace, built on a rectangular plan, is distinguished by the monotony of its facades. Alexandre Dumas visited the place at this time: “Caserta, the Versailles of Naples, is, in fact, a building in the cold and heavy taste of the mid-18th century. Neapolitans who have not traveled to France maintain that Caserta is more beautiful than Versailles; those who have traveled to France are content to say that Caserta is as beautiful as Versailles; finally, impartial travelers who do not share the fabulous enthusiasm of the Neapolitans for their country, without putting Versailles very high, put Caserta well below Versailles; This is our opinion too, and we are not afraid of being contradicted by men of taste and art. »

The Bourbons owned the Caserta estate until 1860, without making it their permanent residence. The last sovereign of this dynasty to reside there was Francis II, whose reign ended with the disappearance of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and the founding of the Kingdom of Italy under the aegis of the House of Savoy. At the end of the 1860s, the palace opened to visitors. Some parts were given to the non-commissioned officer school, then replaced by the Financial Guard Academy. In 1919, Victor-Emmanuel III ceded the estate to the State, along with other former royal residences. From 1926 to 1943, the palace housed the Aeronautical Academy. Its occupation by the Nazis was punctuated by looting; various works of art thus disappear. On April 29, 1945, it was in Caserta that the surrender of German troops in Italy was signed and the first trial for war crimes was held.

Damaged by bombings, the estate is entering the era of restoration work. The boxwood flowerbeds and fountains are restored according to Luigi Vanvitelli's original plans. The furniture, library, and painting gallery, which were moved to other palaces during the war, are returned to their original locations. The public has been readmitted there since 1958. Several historical and heritage associations have their headquarters there. In 1997, the palace and park of Caserta were declared world heritage by UNESCO. They regularly serve as settings for filming: among others, we can cite Star Wars in 1997 and Sergei Bondarchuk's Waterloo in 1970. After a devastating earthquake struck Italy on November 23, 1980, a Neapolitan gallery owner, Lucio Amelio, asked some contemporary artists to exhibit their creations at the Palace of Caserta; this collection, called Terrae Motus, resonates with paintings from the 18th and 19th centuries.

Today, the domain of Caserta remains the symbol of the kingdom which disappeared with the unification of Italy. The Ministry of Culture is trying to bring it out of the shadows and attract tourists, ten times fewer than in Versailles.

A sumptuous decor

The Baroque palace with neoclassical elements, which surpasses its French counterpart in size, has five floors and two basements; the buildings, massive and imposing, are structured around four identical courtyards. There are two thousand windows and some two hundred and fifty rooms per floor. The Age of Enlightenment, with its rationalism, left its mark everywhere in Caserta, where order and symmetry reign. The volumes and colors form a remarkable unity, serving “state classicism”.

The central vestibule opens onto a majestic main staircase in white Carrara marble, protected by two lions who embody the strength of arms and reason. A masterpiece by Vanvitelli, this perfect example of a Baroque parade staircase symbolizes the passage from darkness to light. Three allegorical statues represent Royal Majesty (with the features of Charles de Bourbon riding a lion), Truth, and Merit. Opposite, the monumental effigy of Hercules leaning on a club is the Roman copy of a Greek original, coming from the baths of Caracalla and arriving in Naples with the rest of the Farnese collection (2) in 1766. The dome hides the space reserved for the orchestra, giving the impression of an “invisible choir”.

Charles de Bourbon having expressed the desire to have a palatine chapel as early as 1752, Vanvitelli put all his talent at its service. Although the resemblance to Versailles is obvious, the architect defended himself and became irritated when it was pointed out to him. Indeed, there is a fundamental difference: in France, the king accessed the tribune directly and immediately dominated his subjects, while in Caserta, the sovereign entered the chapel through its only entrance from an octagonal vestibule before going upstairs. 

Charles boasted that the marble used to build his Palatine Chapel came entirely from his kingdom; in reality, the balustrades are made of Carrara marble, from northern Italy. On the other hand, the marbles on the floor are ancient and come from the Farnese Palace in Rome. The chapel was opened by Ferdinand IV on Christmas Eve 1784; the queen was absent, kept in her apartments after another birth. Another memorable moment was the Christmas mass celebrated in 1849 by the exiled Pope Pius IX. The original paintings were destroyed during the bombings of 1943.

In Luigi Vanvitelli's initial project, there were eight apartments intended for sovereigns and their offspring. The royal couple lived from the 1780s in the rooms reserved for the princes while awaiting the completion of the king and queen's bedrooms. To the left of the vestibule, the royal apartments begin with five antechambers. The Hall of Halberdiers is decorated with stucco panels; on the ceiling, Domenico Mondo painted The Triumph of the Bourbon Arms in 1789. Eight female busts symbolize the liberal arts. Four busts of queens of Naples adorn the consoles, echoing the busts of kings, and their husbands, in the bodyguard room. Made by Carlo Vanvitelli, it is striking for the richness of its stucco decoration; In addition to Gerolamo Starace's painting The Glory of the Prince and the Twelve Provinces of the Kingdom, twelve bas-reliefs (1786-1789) tell the story of the Second Punic War. A sculptural group from the 16th century, by Simone Moschino, represents Alexander Farnese as a Roman war leader, crowned with Victory for having brought the Protestants of Flanders back into the Catholic fold.

The Alexander Room, intended for the soldiers of the royal guard and then transformed into a throne room by Murat, takes its name from the fresco The Marriage of Alexander the Great with Roxane, painted by Mariano Rossi in 1787. Also known as "the Marble Room", it constitutes a sort of link between the 18th and 19th centuries. Murat installed two ceremonial armchairs in gilded wood, from the Tuileries Palace. The bas-reliefs above the doors recount episodes from the life of Alexander the Great. Two paintings are dedicated to the founder of the dynasty: Charles de Bourbon at the Battle of Velletri and The Abdication of Charles in favor of his son Ferdinand.

Much altered over the centuries, the Alexandre room adjoins the more sumptuous Mars room, also fitted out during the reign of Murat to accommodate dignitaries and distinguished guests. Its neoclassical decor exalts warrior virtues, drawing subjects from the Iliad. The fifth antechamber (the Astrée salon), intended to receive ambassadors, secretaries of state, and gentlemen of the chamber, presents iconography relating to justice and the laws. The painter Jacques Berger, author of the Triomphe d'Astrée which adorns the ceiling, was inspired by the features of Caroline Bonaparte-Murat. This antechamber precedes the Throne Room, the largest of the royal apartments. Completed by Ferdinand II in 1845, it is decorated with twenty-eight fluted Corinthian pilasters, arranged in pairs. The architrave bears the relief portraits of 44 Neapolitan sovereigns, from Roger the Norman to Ferdinand II of Bourbon, excluding Joseph Bonaparte and Murat.

Next to it is the Council Room, also designed by Murat. Much more modest in size, this space is no less sumptuously decorated. In the center, a neo-baroque table inlaid with porcelain medallions, which depict scenes from daily life and traditional costumes, was offered by the people to Francis II on the occasion of his marriage to Marie-Sophie of Bavaria. The paintings are from the Neapolitan school. Visitors then pass into Francis II’s bedroom; although this room bears the name of this sovereign who left power after less than two years of reign, its layout dates back to the reign of Murat. The furniture, made in Naples according to the French model, is in the Empire style. Another bedroom in the palace is that of Ferdinand II, who died in three months from an “infectious disease.” After his death, which occurred in Caserta on May 22, 1859, all his furniture was burned for fear of contagion.

The queen's apartments open onto two small rooms: the study, decorated with large mirrors made in Castellammare, and Marie-Caroline's boudoir. The Palatine Library was founded in 1768 by this queen, known for her intelligence and culture, and contains 14,000 volumes. Marie-Caroline commissioned its decoration from a German artist, Heinrich Friedrich Füger, who drew on the classical repertoire, in contrast to the baroque decorations of the Neapolitan tradition. The chosen themes provide a springboard between the history of humanity and the new Bourbon “golden age”; some wanted to see allusions to Marie-Caroline’s links with Freemasonry. The chiaroscuro frescoes, based on drawings by Carlo Vanvitelli, are inspired by discoveries made in Pompeii and Herculaneum, excavations of which were initiated in the 18th century. The library's three rooms are sumptuously furnished in walnut and mahogany.

In the Elliptical Room the extraordinary, recently restored Bourbonian Crib is on display. The old Neapolitan tradition of very sophisticated Christmas nativity scenes was one of the courtly entertainments; everyone took part in their development alongside the artists and craftsmen.

The court theater is the only space completed by Luigi Vanvitelli himself. Alabaster columns support the ceiling and the richly decorated boxes. It is a smaller-scale reproduction of the famous San Carlo Theater in Naples, a masterpiece of elegance and refinement; its decor of blue damask and gilding nevertheless distinguishes it from its Neapolitan counterpart adorned in red. It was inaugurated in 1769, in the presence of sovereigns surrounded by the cream of the Neapolitan nobility, with the performance of Claudio Monteverdi's opera Nero, or The Coronation of Poppea.

An oasis of freshness

The park covers almost 120 hectares. Inspired by Versailles, Luigi Vanvitelli presided over the planting and layout of the gardens, the plans of which he designed. He designed temples, pleasure pavilions, waterfalls, and ponds, creating the illusion that the main avenue stretches to the horizon. Percier and Fontaine admire its large tuff stone aqueduct, “an extraordinary undertaking worthy of the ancient Romans, more important and bolder, in all respects, than the aqueducts of Marly, Buc, Maintenon, which were made or planned to provide water at the Palace of Versailles”. The Carolino acquedotto, 38 km long and mainly underground, received several sources; the water collected in a canal crossing the valley came to supply, through a large number of branches and separate conduits, the ponds, the Great Cascade in front of the castle, the basins and the numerous water jets which decorated the flowerbeds. This extraordinary hydraulic engineering work is still in service.

At the end of the 18th century, when the fashion for English gardens spread throughout Europe, those of Caserta underwent modifications: the symmetrical groves, the straight and aligned paths, were made irregular and tortuous. Marie-Caroline invested her fortune in it, so that her English garden, with rare and exotic plants, rivaled her sister Marie-Antoinette's Petit Trianon. The monumental fountains are dedicated to mythological characters: Diana and Actaeon, Venus and Adonis, Ceres, and Aeolus. There we find newts, dolphins, and nymphs, the usual motifs of water jets from this era fond of Antiquity. The Grande Cascade is the highlight of this marvelous aquatic ballet.

(1) Alexandre Dumas delivers a sharp criticism on this subject: “Louis XIV has been much criticized for the unfortunate choice of the site of Versailles, which has been called a favorite without merit; we will make the same reproach to King Charles III; but Louis This filial piety cost France a billion. Charles III has no excuse. Nothing forced him, in a country where delicious sites abound, to choose an arid plain, at the foot of a bare mountain, without greenery and water; the architect Vanvitelli, who built Caserta, had to plant an entire garden around the ancient park of the lords and bring down water from Mount Taburno. »

(2) The mother of Charles de Bourbon was Élisabeth Farnese, the last descendant of this illustrious family. Ferdinand IV organized the transfer of this prestigious heritage to Naples.

“Everything is big, everything is sumptuous”

By comparing different residences of sovereigns, Charles Percier and Pierre Fontaine note: "Apart from the defects of correction, which are noticed in all the profiles and the ornaments of this great construction, we could assure that there are few dwellings of sovereigns in which we encounter a more imposing ensemble, a larger plan than in the castle of Caserta. However, despite these numerous advantages, which it is impossible not to recognize, despite the good whole, the complete uniformity, the methodical ordering of the subdivisions of this vast habitation, we are disposed, by considering it more attentively in its details, to find that it does not have the charm and desirable amenities. Everything is grand, everything is sumptuous in this rich residence, but everything is sad, monotonous and inconvenient” (Residences of sovereigns, by C. Percier and P. F. L. Fontaine, Paris, among the authors, at the Louvre, 1833).

The palace and its gardens.

Queen Marie-Caroline of Naples. This sovereign, wife of Ferdinand IV, liked to stay in Caserta. She is at the origin of the Palatine library and the English garden in the park.