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The Caserta
Palace, in Italian Palazzo Reale di Caserta, is a palace
and former Royal residence in Caserta, near Naples, once used by the
Kings of Naples. It was the largest palace and probably the largest
building erected in Europe in the 18th century. In 1996, the Palace
of Caserta was listed among the World Heritage Sites on the ground
that it was "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".
The construction of the palace was begun in 1752 for Charles VII of
Naples, who worked closely with his architect Luigi Vanvitelli. When
King Carlo 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 resigned from
the throne in 1759, and the project was carried to completion for
his third son and successor Ferdinand IV of Naples. |
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