An hour and a half of driving, and nearly 16 kilometres of walking and a sense of amazement and wonder close the chapter on Reggia di Caserta, The Royal Palace of the Bourbons (hold the chocolate biscuit jokes!)
It's a beautiful sunny day, though thankfully not too hot, as we wend our way down the A1 to Caserta Nord. We are in Campania again to fulfil another journey that I promised myself I'd make at some point - I think it's been on my wish list for at least 10 years.
The first thing that hits you about the place is the sheer scale of it. It is massive! And I suppose that's the point, it was built to impress. The House of Bourbon, first Charles Vll and then later Ferdinand lV of Naples had the palace constructed when they ruled the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and it has everything you'd expect a palace to have: libraries, state apartments, administration centres and so on. What you need to be prepared for is Baroque in the extreme and what is evident is that the Bourbons weren't short of a bob or two and there is a lot of gilded decoration. Everywhere.
Entrance to the royal apartments is by way of the Grand Staircase, a masterpiece of marble and glitz. Huge windows look out onto the courtyard and the light bounces off immaculately clean floors. It's all very bling and there is a nagging thought about how on earth they clean the windows or heat the place - but then I suppose of you can afford to build a palace this size, finding peasants to keep it clean wouldn't have been much of a problem.
I am underwhelmed by the artwork which is why there are only a few paintings in the photo album. It's all good art but the scenes of flowers (the palace was also a botanical school) and the plethora of hunting scenes are cold. Much of the artwork is oil on canvas and very dark almost in contrast to the rooms which house them. There are some interesting pieces of modern art which are "hidden" in various rooms off the main apartments; there are also some well preserved pressed plants in the exhibition of Frammenti di Paradiso.
Huge chandeliers are suspended from ceilings with smiling cherubs and other imaginary creatures painted in endlessly disappearing skies. The throne room is just gold - everywhere. Elsewhere, it's a little more subdued but not by much! There are other curios like the Room of Clocks and the library which break up the procession from one grand room to the next.
Eventually, after being drowned in this tidal wave of baroque extravagance, we find a coffee shop and from a table near one of the windows, gaze out onto our next challenge: the park.
This is modelled on the same layout as Versailles and I have no idea how long it is. Suffice it to say there's a bus service from the palace to the end of the park and bike hire is another option. We opt for Shanks' pony and process up the hill past a series of fountains and lakes filled with very large carp. Halfway up, we stop for una pausa of olives and frittelle calde and a drink. Even though it's a Sunday in mid-September, there are a large number of tourists. However, since the park is so big, it's not like the apartments where you have to wait for people to move on so you can see something.
If I remember correctly, the designers diverted a river so they could have water features in the park. Whatever. It is stunning and eventually we reach the top of the park where there is an artificially constructed waterfall which feeds the fountain of Diana and Actaeon. There is also a bar which sells much needed refreshments!
Next to the fountain is the English Garden. It's less formal than the main park and I suppose that at a pinch much of the planting is English - if you happen to live in the sub-tropical SW of England like the Scilly Isles. There are lots of evergreens and a little temple in the middle of a lake and it's shady and quaint if a little uninspiring after the grandeur of the main avenue.
After that, feeling a little footsore, we head back to the palace and take the A1 home. It was A Grand Day Out and definitely worth seeing.
As usual, the full set of photos can be seen by clicking on this link:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/zXSdVYpjtp9tuGKw8
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