Architecture in the Royal Palace at Caserta

Largest building in Europe from the eighteenth century

The great palace of Caserta, near Naples, probably the largest building erected in Europe in the eighteenth century, became an archetypal expression of absolute monarchy. It was begun in 1752 for Carlo di Borbone, King of the Two Sicilies, who worked closely with its chief architect, Luigi Vanvitell.

Baroque Reggia Royal Palace

As the Italian challenge to the magnificence of Versailles, the Royal Palace of Naples at Caserta is one of the most extraordinary accomplishments of 18th-century art and architecture.
With 1200 spectacularly furnished rooms and 34 grand staircases, it is a monument to the splendor of its age. The Baroque Reggia Royal Palace is set in beautifully landscaped park, whose stunning waterfalls and fountains were created 250 years ago with the construction of a 30-mile long aqueduct.

Caserta

Architecture in the Royal Palace at Caserta by G. Hersey
Publisher: The MIT Press, 1983
ISBN: 0262081210

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