Reggia di Caserta

The Bourbon royal palace — a vast, UNESCO-listed rival to Versailles with 1,200 rooms and a 3km park.

The Reggia di Caserta is the largest royal palace in the world by volume, and standing in its central vestibule it is easy to believe it. The grand staircase alone — a single theatrical sweep of marble beneath a vaulted ceiling — is worth the trip from Naples. The state apartments on the upper floors are lavishly decorated, and the royal theatre, modelled on San Carlo in Naples, sits tucked inside the palace as if an afterthought.

UNESCO inscribed the Reggia in 1997, together with the park, the aqueduct, and San Leucio. Admission covers the palace interiors and the park; the English Garden requires a separate ticket. Plan at least three to four hours if you want to see the palace and walk the length of the park to the cascade.

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A story
King Charles VII of Naples commissioned Luigi Vanvitelli in 1751 to build a palace that would outshine Versailles — and in sheer numbers, it does. The finished complex has 1,200 rooms, 1,790 windows, and 34 staircases spread across a building that measures 247 metres on each facade. Vanvitelli died before its completion in 1845, leaving the project to his son Carlo, who carried it faithfully to the end.