Palace of Caserta

The Royal Palace of Caserta (Italian: Reggia di Caserta, Italian pronunciation: [ˈrɛddʒa di kaˈzɛrta]) is a former royal residence in Caserta, southern Italy, constructed for the Bourbon kings of Naples. It was the largest palace and one of the largest buildings erected in Europe during the 18th century. In 1997, the palace was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site; its nomination described it as "the swan song of the spectacular art of the Baroque, from which it adopted all the features needed to create the illusions of multidirectional space". In terms of volume, the Royal Palace of Caserta is the largest royal residence in the world with over 2 million m³ and covering an area of about 235,000 m².

History

The construction of the palace was begun in 1752 for Charles VII of Naples, who worked closely with his architect, Luigi Vanvitelli. When Charles saw Vanvitelli's grandly scaled model for Caserta, it filled him with emotion "fit to tear his heart from his breast". In the end, he never slept a night at the Reggia, as he abdicated in 1759 to become King of Spain, and the project was carried to only partial completion for his third son and successor, Ferdinand IV of Naples.

Caserta

Caserta [kaˈzɛrta]  listen  is the capital of the province of Caserta in the Campania region of Italy. It is an important agricultural, commercial and industrial comune and city. Caserta is located on the edge of the Campanian plain at the foot of the Campanian Subapennine mountain range. The city is best known for the Palace of Caserta.

History

Modern Caserta was established around the defensive tower built in Lombard times by Pando, Prince of Capua. Pando destroyed the original city around 863. The tower is now part of the Palazzo della Prefettura which was once the seat of the counts of Caserta, as well as a royal residence. The original population moved from Casertavecchia (former bishopric seat) to the current site in the 16th century. Casertavecchia was built on the Roman town of Casam Irtam (the name Caserta is a subsequent contraction of Casa(m) Irta(m) meaning "home village located above").

The city and vicinity were the property of the Acquaviva family who, being pressed by huge debts, sold all the land to the royal family. The royal family then selected Caserta for the construction of their new palace which, being inland, was seen as more defensible than the previous palace fronting the Bay of Naples.

Caserta (Eastville, Virginia)

Caserta was a historic plantation home located near Eastville, Northampton County, Virginia. The oldest section was dated to about 1736. The house consisted of a two-story, three-bay main block with gable roof, and brick end with interior end chimney. It had a 1 1/2-story end wing and hyphen, the end wing having a large exterior end chimney and a steeper gable roof than the hyphen. The main section was built by U.S. Navy Commander George P. Upshur (1799-1852), brother of Judge Abel Parker Upshur of Vaucluse. He owned the property from 1836 to 1847. It was destroyed by fire in 1975.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970 and delisted in 2001.

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