Visit Caserta, Tourism and travel tips

The Royal Palace of Caserta

Caserta and the Royal Palace

Caserta is located 25 miles north of Naples, on the edge of the Campanian plain and at the foot of the Campanian subapennine mountain range.

It is a city based on its agricultural, industrial and commercial production.

The civil network offers easy access from and to Caserta and links traffic to Rome and Naples to Bari and it is also the starting point of the A30 motorway to Salerno. The nearest airport is situated in Naples, located 20 miles south of Caserta and is called the Capodichino.

From Naples you can take a train every 10-20 minutes from the Stazione Centrale (Central Station) and it will arrive at the Caserta’s railway station in the Piazza Giuseppe Garibaldi. If you want to go by car, just take the A1 motorway from either Naples or Rome and take the Caserta exit and follow the signs.

Once there you should head to the Royal Palace which is the center of the town. When you are there, the best way to explore the city and its surrounding areas is by foot or with public transportation, such as taxis and buses.

The city of Caserta is known to be the birthplace of the air power theorist Giulio Douhet and also the Italian’s writer Maria Valtorta.

Caserta though is mostly known for the Royal Palace. Caserta’s Palace was created by the Italian architect Luigi Vanvitelli in the 18th century and it was the residence of the Bourbon Kings of Sicily and Naples. Specifically it was firstly built for Charles VII of Naples.

The Caserta’s Palace meets a similar concept to that of the Versailles.

The aim was to provide the king, government and court with a bigger building for solving any type of problems, with a confronting view and a social structure of a small city.

The Palace has more than 1200 rooms, all decorated in several styles with gold and marble, a library, a theatre and it is the inspiration set for movies like Star Wars and Mission Impossible (among others) to become a reality.

The Royal Palace was the seat of the Supreme Allied Commander in the end of the World War II and it was the building which the first Allied war trial took place in 1945.

The palace dimensions reach up to 250 x 185 meters and the four sides are connected by two orthogonal arms, forming four inner courts.

Caserta’s Palace is the largest worldwide in volume. The palace has more than 40 monumental rooms, where Versailles has only 22.

A botanical garden in the park, called ‘The English Garden’, waterfalls, large gardens, beautiful lakes and 5 fountains can be found, spread in the palace. These are the: fountain of Diana and Actaeon, The fountain of Aeolus, The fountain of Ceres, the Fountain of Dolphins and the Fountain of Venus and Adonis.

The sign of rich vegetation is visible at first sight, which includes exotic and rare specimens of plants. It will take you several hours to explore the park but it is well worth it. The starting point for the tour will be the Margherita fountain. It is in the central avenue about 700 meters and located at the centre. From there you can start the exploration and you can reach to the other parts of the park and see the other fountains and the statues that I have stated above.

scritto da Bridget Brackett - ultima modifica il 16/04/2020

A trip in Caserta

In the city of Caserta we can find two squares. The oldest, which is called the ‘Piazza Mercato’, houses the market, and the Vanvitelli square, which is the main square consisting of the modern life of Caserta such as bars, hotels, banks, shops, boutiques and more.

At the center of the Vanvitelli square we can see the statue of Luigi Vanvitelli the architect of the Royal Palace.

Another sightseeing that is worth a visit is the Caserta’s war cemetery as it is an important piece from the World War II history. The cemetery was designed by Louis de Soissons and contains 768 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War.

Other spots on your list to visit should include the Cathedral that was built in the 18th century and the Aqueduct of Vanvitelli.

Like all other Italian cities, the region of Campania and more specifically the city of Caserta has more to offer than only history for the tourist explorer. You can find the market to buy fresh local products, have a relaxing coffee at the outdoor cafes, shop at the small boutiques or even dig out old valuable treasures at the antique shops.

Finishing the tour or your day in the city of Caserta, you will have the chance to try the cooking traditions that influenced the specialties. The local food in Caserta is one of the best in the world. Some of the top dishes include the Neapolitan pizza, which is perfect only in this region of Italy, consisted of fresh tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, basil and olive oil.

Other dishes you should try is the ‘risotto alla pescatora’ which uses rice and other sea based flavors, the polpette, which is a traditional pasta with the mythic meatballs, and the caprese salad, which captivates the flavors of fresh tomatoes, laves of basil and olive oil together with the di bufala mozarella.

These are only some of the excellent traditional dishes that you will have the chance to try in Caserta. To explore the city you will need strength, and what gives more strength, is a perfect meal full of energy.

The city of Caserta will stimulate all your senses so let yourself being relaxed and live a new experience. This city should be in the top of the list of someone’s holiday destinations.

Tips

Through the days of the last Monday of August until the 15th of September, Caserta hosts a local music and art festival. You can experience the live concerts, the dance, the folk songs and the theater, among other things.

Fact

The first camellia imported from Japan was planted in 1880 in the ‘English Garden’.

scritto da Bridget Brackett - ultima modifica il 11/11/2019