Reggia di Caserta – luxurious, breathtaking in its size and decoration of the Royal Palace, located in Caserta. Once the residence of the king of Naples, consisting of 1,200 rooms, was the largest building in Europe. Its construction was caused not only by considerations of international prestige, but also the fact that the main Royal residence on the shores of the Bay of Naples was an easy prey when attacking from the sea.

For the construction Reggia di Caserta was invited by the architect Luigi Vanvitelli, who took a sample of the Paris Versailles and the Royal Palace in Madrid. Construction began in 1752, the year by order of the king of Naples Charles VII and lasted nearly 30 years! While the surrounding landscape was completely changed, and she Caserta was moved to 10 km. Interestingly, Charles VII not held in the Palace, since in 1759, the year he abdicated. Never saw the completion of building works and Vanvitelli – he died in 1773, the year, and was invited by his son, Carlo.

On the territory of the Palace were built the Church and the court theatre (on the model of the Naples Teatro San Carlo), however, the plans for the construction of the University and the library have not been implemented. Remained only on paper and the draft 20-kilometer driveway. But around the Reggia di Caserta was defeated a large English garden is the largest in Italy (area of about 120 ha). It stretches for 3, 2 km in length. Among its lawns and groves, you can meet the fountains, sculptures, artificial ponds, the enormous aqueduct of Vanvitelli, and a silk manufactory with houses workers who disguised as garden pavilions.

Reggia di Caserta is a rectangular building, measuring h meter with four courtyards, each of which has an area of almost 4 thousand sq. m. Of 1200 rooms of the Palace – huge 40 rooms completely decorated with frescoes. For comparison: in Versailles such halls only 22.

I must say that at the end of the 18th century, when the Palace was built, Versailles was already past, and architects repeatedly accused of extravagance and megalomania. However, in our time, in 1997 year, the Reggia di Caserta was taken under protection as a UNESCO world Cultural Heritage site with the phrase "Swan song of the spectacular art of the Baroque". At no time was the shooting of Italian and Hollywood films, including such world famous as Star wars, Mission impossible, the da Vinci Code", "Angels and Demons".