In 1750 Charles Bourbon fascinated by the Palace of Versailles and the Escorial Palace bought the land at the foot of Tifatini, asking Luigi Vanvitelli to design the residence of the Bourbons for the Kingdom of Naples. The work lasted 93 years and saw the numerous succession King who lived in the Palace since 1780, while the direction of the work is attended Luigi Vanvitelli's son Carlo. The Palace of Caserta presents, to date, as a true monument that occupies 45.000 sqm, with its five floors, It reaches a height of 36 m. On the main facade open 143 and windows in the palace are well 1200 rooms and 34 stairways. The staircase is an invention scenic art eighteenth century and connects the lower and the upper vestibule, which leads to the royal apartments. Visiting its interior it was amazed by the continuous succession of stucco, reliefs, frescoes, sculptures and inlaid floors. Notable are those of Astrea Hall, the Hall of Mars, the Palatine Chapel and the Throne Room, the latter the biggest of the royal apartments once used the personalities reception. Caserta is located in the north eastern edge of the Campanian plain and is closed, partly, by the chain of Tifatini. Here in 1750 King Charles of Bourbon decided to build a new palace that constitute the focal point of the modern capital, Caserta, able to compete with major European cities. The complex was entrusted to the great architect Luigi Vanvitelli who designed a stately mansion, austere externally but valuable in the interior, surrounded by a park with spectacular fountains. This extremely ambitious project has been included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage property for its original conception and management.

Criteria for admission to Unesco

The World Heritage Committee decided to include this good on the basis of criteria (i), (ii), (iii) e (iv) considering that the monumental complex of Caserta, which it has similar characteristics to those of other royal residences of the eighteenth century, It is extraordinary for the circular amplitude of its design, which includes not only an impressive building and a park, but also the surrounding natural landscape and an ambitious project of a new city according to the precepts of time planning. The industrial complex of the Belvedere of San Leucio, designed for the production of silk, It is also of particular interest to the idealistic principles that were the basis of its original conception and management.

History, art and culture

In 1750 Charles of Bourbon, King of the Two Sicilies, buy the family Acquaviva the area at the foot of Tifatini, where he pointed out the birth of the Royal Palace. It was Pope Benedict XIV to give the future King Charles III of Spain consent to take, for the realization of the Palace, Luigi Vanvitelli, Napo letano an architect of Dutch origin, who he was working on the preparation of the Jubilee 1750. The construction work began in 1752; seven years later, with jobs at the peak, King Charles left Naples and moved to Madrid as the King of Spain. In 1773, the death of Luigi Vanvitelli, the work was not completed yet. Only in 1847 venne ultimata la Sala del Trono e l’opera venne quindi compiuta anche se con alcuni cambiamenti rispetto al progetto originale, not so much due to the passage of the project in the hands of the son Vanvitelli, Carlo, As with decreasing interest due to the departure of Charles of Bourbon. The Royal Palace of Caserta belonged to the Bourbon family for over a century, from the 1752 al 1860, when he passed to the Savoy. In 1919 Finally a ministerial decree attributed it to the land of the Italian State. The Palace is rectangular and the inner area is divided into four sections with three courtyards divided by a solemn atrium three aisles with two transverse arms. Each of the four courtyards has rounded corners from a cut of forty-five degrees; this device, together with the insights of Vanvitelli, It contributes to avoiding the squaring that would have been unavoidable for the mole of the building. Vanvitelli also designed a monumental and majestic access to the Royal Palace, with a large boulevard that is grafted on a double semicircle and forms the Piazza Vanvitelli. The Royal Palace includes 1.200 rooms, the square in front, the park and the English garden. The first symbol of the royal palace is the Stairway of Honor, which it comes with a large central ramp that splits into two parallel elements, with 116 steps each consist of a single Trapani of "lumachella" block. In the middle of the porch, the vision proposes the marble floor between the pillars, the arches and statues above it. There are three, stucco, depicting the Royal Majesty, riding a lion, the merit, armed with a sword and a book, the truth, a female figure which rests with one foot on the world while with the index finger tip of the sun. The cornice running along the time was intended to record music teachers during receptions; This arrangement anticipates the concept of stereo music from a source not visible because the orchestra was completely covered than guests.