3. - Schlösser-Magazin

Palace Garden of Palazzo Reale, Caserta
Basic Facts
Location: Italy, region of Campania, city of
Caserta
Historical outline: 16th-century redesign of a
villa and wooded park by Count Acquaviva
d’Aragona; 1734 the property of Charles
of Bourbon, great-grandson of Louis XIV
and King of Naples and Sicily; 1752-1774
construction of a palace by Luigi Vanvitelli
and after his death by Carlo Vanvitelli; 1762
-1779 extension of the palace gardens from
plans by Luigi Vanvitelli (unfinished): 1762
construction of large basin, 1769 water works
complete, construction of the great Basin of
Dolphins, 1777-1787 construction of cascade
garden; only basic features of a planned town
redesign completed; after 1780 construction
of an ideal village on the outskirts of the
park; 1790-1793 under Ferdinand IV laying
out of an English garden next to the cascade
garden from plans by Carlo Vanvitelli, with
guidance by John Andrew Graefer and Sir
William Hamilton; work on this part of the
garden continues into the 19th-century; 1860
property of the King of Italy; from 1921
government property; 1997 inscription on the
UNESCO World Heritage list.
Characteristics: Modeled, both in aspiration
and in size, on Versailles, the last great royal
palace of European absolutism; a huge
palace arranged around four courtyards
and its garden are strung out on an axis 3
km in length. Rather than a view out over
the countryside this park incorporates
the slope of a nearby hill. A central and
characteristically Italian feature is the cascade
3. Justification for Inscription
with its numerous fountains and waterfalls,
leaving the parterre and bosquets secondary
in importance.
Topical Comparison
Summer residence: During the 18th-century
the palace, despite its intended residence
function, was used more for occasional stays
in spring and autumn. Its original purpose is
reflected in the many courtiers’ apartments
and administrative buildings, as well as the
library, university and theatre. The basic
character of the town layout is still visible,
both in the dominant axis directed towards
Naples and the encompassing of the square –
and town – by the estate.
Synthesis of gardening styles: The landscape
garden was laid out to the north-east of the
Baroque garden; no original elements were
redesigned. It is surrounded by a wall; access
is from the Baroque garden via a dark cave,
making for a clear separation of the two
gardening styles. The Baroque garden is
unfinished and has been altered; the parterre
retains the basic structure in a simplified
form.
Furnishing: Built parts of the water displays
mostly preserved; miniature fortress in the
”Bosco Vecchio“ (1769), converted into a
garden pavilion in the 19th-century, water
basins, canal, cascades and numerous
fountains with elaborate sculptures; landscape
garden follies, including an artificial ruin, a
Gothic chapel and a ruined temple, survive
too.
Technical monuments: technically
sophisticated aqueduct to provide Caserta
with spring water, 41 km in length; at the
time, the bridge built for it across a valley
was the largest built since Roman times. The
aqueduct has been preserved.
Authenticity: The garden, like the palace, still
shows the respective tastes and styles of its
creators’ times. With the ”Bosco Vecchio“ and
the network of paths west of the parterre,
parts of the garden originally belonging to
the villa preceding the palace have become
part of the Baroque park. Of the finished
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