Royal Palace of Caserta

The largest royal palace on earth

  “See Naples and die”, people used to say whilst on the Grand Tour. That’s how taken they were by the opulence and power of its Bourbon kings. You can see one of their greatest architectural feats at the Royal Palace of Caserta.  

To put it bluntly: it’s humongous. In fact, it’s the largest royal palace on earth, covering 47,000 square metres, and you can find it about an hour north of Naples.  

The grounds are spectacular. To make sure you see all of them, hire bicycles, use a shuttle bus, or even (if you want to feel like a noble) take a horse-drawn carriage. Its old woods, fountains and “English Garden” offer fresh air and shade with a sense of grandeur.   

Inside, find 5 floors, over 1,200 rooms and 24 apartments. A library. A theatre. Military command centres. A university. Caserta is impossibly ornate. An absolute triumph of Italian Baroque style, seeing it is like being struck by the explosive crescendo of a dramatic opera.

Funnily enough, that might just be deliberate. One of its many highlights is the great marble staircase. It’s a masterpiece of “chiaroscuro” – a design technique which uses the interplay of light and shadow to create a sense of drama and suspense.