The monumental and magnificent Palace of Caserta is just half an hour from Naples, and two hours from Rome.
Caserta has two UNESCO World Heritage Sites
Caserta’s Royal Palace is the largest royal residence in the world by volume, and was built from 1752 onwards by Charles Bourbon whose family at the time reigned over the Kingdom of Naples. From a historical and cultural point of view, Caserta, which is near Naples, is one of the most interesting cities in the Campania region. Apart from the magnificent Bourbon Royal Palace it can also boast the Royal Belvedere of San Leucio and the Acquedotto Carolino which is now another UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Caserta is called the Versailles of Italy
The Royal Palace of Caserta, nicknamed the Versailles of Italy for its similarity in opulence and grandeur to the French royal palace is Paris, is surrounded by an immense park. Everything inside and outside the palace was designed by the architect Luigi Vanvitelli, who wanted to create a masterpiece that would become, to all intents and purposes, the nucleus of the new Bourbon capital of the Kingdom of Naples. 
The grand staircase inspired those built in other royal residences
The palace has a rectangular layout with four internal courtyards, a long portico linking the park and the waterfall and the Scalone d'Onore grand staircase. This is a true masterpiece which inspired the construction of all the grand staircases of later royal residences. Opposite the Scalone there is the Palatine Chapel, on the western side we find the Court Theatre, while the Quadreria is a modern addition, opened in 2011 to house paintings ranging from the 16th to the 19th century.
The Italian and English gardens extend over three kilometres
If the interior of the Reggia is an example of magnificence, pomp and beauty, it is in the Italian and English gardens (inspired by the gardens of the great 18th-century villas and royal palaces including Versailles) that the Bourbons best transmitted the sense of power and grandeur they sought to convey. The gardens extend as far as the eye can see for over three kilometres thanks to the “telescope effect” walkway, and the exquisite fountains and pools that embellish the vast 300-acre park.
