Caserta Quadro Piazza Torneo Fergola 948x573, Unofficial Website of the Royal Palace of Caserta

History of the Palace and of the Bourbon

History, events and personalities of the Royal Palace

Veduta Reggia Vanvitelli Dichiarazione Bonhams.com Copia 948x632, Unofficial Website of the Royal Palace of Caserta
Veduta Reggia Vanvitelli Dichiarazione Bonhams.com Copia 948x632, Unofficial Website of the Royal Palace of Caserta

THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL PARK AT CASERTA

The synthesis of three centuries of landscape art in the Royal Palace at Caserta

THE HISTORY OF THE GARDENS

The Royal Garden, designed by Luigi Vanvitelli and inspired by the gardens of the great royal palaces of the time, combines the tradition of the Italian Renaissance garden with the solutions introduced by André Le Nôtre for the gardens of Versailles.

You can feel its splendour and its size since after the entrance of the palace, when between the arches of the central gallery, you will notice the gardens extending as far as the eye can see. This is an innovation called “Telescope Effect” and was introduced by Vanvitelli, who designed an huge completely straight avenue starting from Naples and ending at the top of the waterfall situated at the ending part of the Garden of the Royal Palace of Caserta.

Parco Parterre 700x474, Unofficial Website of the Royal Palace of Caserta
Cannocchiale Reggia Di Caserta 948x205, Unofficial Website of the Royal Palace of Caserta

The “telescope effect” created by Vanvitelli

The Park covers an area of 120 hectares, with a length of for 3.3km. The water is supplied by the Carolino Aqueduct, which brings it to the pools, fountains and the palace.
The works started with the boundary of the area around the palace, and with the planting of the first plants, started in 1753, together with the construction of the Carolino Aqueduct.
This enormous 120ha garden is only a reduced version of the one that Luigi Vanvitelli had designed: at his death in 1773, the aqueduct was completed, but no fountain had yet been made. After 1773, when Vanvitelli passed away, the works stopped for 4 years.

Vanvitelli 71 700x500, Unofficial Website of the Royal Palace of Caserta

The plan of the Park by the Declaration of drawings. Naples 1756.

In 1777 his son Carlo, now director of the works, showed to the new King Ferdinand IV a new project, a reduced version of his father’s design. Indeed, economic difficulties and the needs to complete the works quickly, forced the reduction of the number of fountains in the second part of the Park. However, Luigi Vanvitelli’s design was kept unchanged in the general shape, especially the most prominent thing of its project: the spectacular 3.3km canal of fountains and basins ending with the amazing waterfall.

Veduta Reggia Vanvitelli Dichiarazione Bonhams.com Copia 700x467, Unofficial Website of the Royal Palace of Caserta

The original project by Luigi Vanvitelli. The parterre was in rococo style, but  it was no longer made due to lack of funds and because was out of fashion. (Photo Bonhams.com)

In 1786, in the eastern part of the Park, started the construction the English Garden, the first example of informal garden in Italy. lt was desired by the queen Maria Carolina, wife to Ferdinand IV,and sister of Marie Antoinette, Queen of France. The English Garden is inspired to an ideal of spontaneous and wild nature, very differently from the rest of the Park based on the layout of the Italian formal gardens.

Gardens Map1 700x199, Unofficial Website of the Royal Palace of Caserta

Map of the the main part of the Caserta’s Palace Garden

Caserta Quadro Piazza Torneo Fergola 948x573, Unofficial Website of the Royal Palace of Caserta
Caserta Quadro Piazza Torneo Fergola 948x573, Unofficial Website of the Royal Palace of Caserta

HISTORY OF THE PALACE OF CASERTA

The world biggest royal palace that changed the world architecture

“The Royal Palace , the crowning achievement of Luigi Vanvitelli, anticipated the external appearance of 18th century buildings whilst at the same time representing the swan song of the spectacular art of the Baroque, from which it adopted all the features needed to create the illusion of multidirectional space”

19 July 1996, Unesco’s nomination for the World’s Heritage List unesco.org

HISTORY

Designed by Luigi Vanvitelli in 1752, the magnificent Royal Palace of Caserta was created to be the core of a new capital city of the kingdom.Even before ascending the throne in 1734, Charles wanted to realize an administrative centre as an alternative to Naples, because the city is located close the the sea, and this represent a risk of invasion, while the feud of Caserta was the perfect solution to these problems. So King Charles bought it in 1750 from the Prince Michelangelo Caetani di Sermoneta, for the amount of 489.393 ducats. The design of the Royal Palace was committed to Luigi Vanvitelli, at the time the first architect of the Factory of San Pietro in Vaticano. The works were solemnly inaugurated on the 20th of January 1752, the same day of the king’s birthday.The original design of the palace already included the Park, but its realization started only one year later, in 1753, and took more than fifty years to be completed.During the first phase, between 1753 and 1773, the Caroline Aqueduct was realized,because it was necessary for the water supply of the Palace and the new capital city.The aqueduct,an amazing piece of engineering that goes through an itinerary of 38 Km,was completed around the 1770.

 

After 1773, when Vanvitelli died, the works stopped for 4 years. In 1777 his son Carlo, now director of the works, showed to the new king Ferdinand IV a new project, a simplified version of his father’s design. Indeed, economic difficulties and the needs to complete the works quickly forced the reduction of the number of fountains in the second part of the Park. However Luigi Vanvitelli’s design was kept unchanged in the general shape,especially the most prominent thing of its project: the spectacular 3.3km canal of fountains and basins ending with the amazing waterfall.

Vanvitelli Dichiarazione Progetti Reggia Di Caserta 300 222x300, Unofficial Website of the Royal Palace of Caserta

The project of the Palace

Read online the original Project of the Palace!

THE BOURBON ERA

The building site of the Reggia was initially slowed down by the abdication of the king and Charles of Bourbon for his transfer to the Spanish throne in 1759 and, subsequently, by the fact that his son Ferdinando wanted to finish the palace as soon as possible with the least possible expense.

The death of Luigi Vanvitelli in 1773, the economic crisis and various political events prevented the completion of the project

In 1780 the west side apartments once destined to the princes had been completed, and King Ferdinand I wanted to live there.

THE RULE BY NAPOLEON BONAPARTE AND JOACHIM MURAT

The Giuseppe Bonaparte era

During the Bonaparte domination there are no works carried out in the Royal Palace, but the splendid chairs and armchairs of the Alexander Room were brought by him from the Tuileries Palace.

The Joachim Murat era

Soon…

Reggia Di Caserta Sala Di Astrea 7 700x474, Unofficial Website of the Royal Palace of Caserta

Detail from the the Hall of Astrea, one of the rooms built during the Murat period

The return of the Bourbon

At the return of the Bourbons on the throne he did not dare to destroy the beautiful furnishings brought by Bonaparte and Murat as well, for example, the chairs of the Alexander Hall the initials of Joseph Bonaparte were replaced with those of Ferdinand, while always in the Alexander Hall the two large paintings and the bas-reliefs above the doors were replaced, as they praised Murat.

In 1830 the king died, and no work was done until 1839 when the Throne Room project was resumed, and completed in 1845.

THE END OF THE KINGDOM, THE UNIFICATION OF ITALY AND THE DESPOILING

In 1859 King Ferdinand IV probably died poisoned

Soon…

Il Bidet Di Maria Carolina Di Napoli Nella Reggia Di Caserta., Unofficial Website of the Royal Palace of Caserta

“strange object in the shape of a guitar”. This is how the bidet was described in the Savoy inventories, as unknown to them. In fact, they were inventorying the Royal Palace, before emptying it to bring furnishings and works of art to the Turin palaces of the Savoy family.

THE ROYAL PALACE DURING THE World WAR II

The German and Anglo-American occupation

During the Second World War the city of Caserta hosted a displacement of Nazi troops.

Hitler, as we know, did plunder of works of art in Europe, and being the Palace became headquarters of German troops, it is logical to assume that many works of art are finite abroad.

Later the city of Caserta was bombed, and the Royal Palace was damaged. After that it became Allied Headquarters in the Mediterranean for British and American troops. The Royal Palace of Caserta thus became a great military citadel, or what was called the Allied Force Headquarter.

As it is trying to protect the works of art, it was impossible to prevent theft and damage. It is no coincidence that, periodically, objects from the Royal Palace of Caserta or with the Bourbon coat of arms embossed appear in large international auctions. International museums also possess objects and documents such as, for example, part of the palace’s original projects.

The surrender at Caserta and the end of World War II

The Surrender of Caserta was the final formal act that sanctioned the end of the Italian campaign and the definitive defeat of the Nazi-Fascist armed forces in Italy during the Second World War.

The act, entitled Instrument of local surrender of German forces and other forces placed under the command or control of the German South-West Command and its annexes, was signed in Caserta on April 29, 1945 in the presence of British and American delegated officers. Germans and a Russian observer: it provided for an unconditional surrender that was to become operational from 2 May.

In the document drawn up, the German armed forces were associated with those of the Italian Social Republic since it, being considered a puppet state and therefore not recognized by the allied forces, was unable to enter into direct agreements with the latter: for this reason the German representative it was equipped with a written proxy issued by the Minister of Defense of CSR Rodolfo Graziani.

THE AIR FORCE

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