The main word you will learn in this article is: reggia
Caserta, a city situated in the Italian region of Campania, has a marvellous Royal Palace (“reggia” in Italian) with a beautiful park which is a typical example of Italian Baroque architecture. In the 18th Century Charles III of Bourbon commissioned the project to Luigi Vanvitelli and at the time it was one of the largest buildings erected in Europe. Since 1997 it is one of the 50 Italian World Heriage Sites of Unesco.
The rectangular structure, built on the model of the Palace of Versailles, is constructed in brick and travertine with five floors and 1,200 rooms full of frescoes and sculptures.
The Hall of Astrea, the Hall of Marte and the Hall of the Throne are some of the most important rooms of the palace. There are also a chapel, a theatre which is one of the examples of the 17th architecture and an Art Gallery in which there are the portraits of the Bourbon family.
The park is a typical example of an Italian-style garden, it has a lot of fountains and waterfalls that create beautiful water games. There is also an English-style garden with many exotic plants such as the Cedars of Lebanon.
Since 1955 the Palace has been the location for many movies such as some episodes of Star Trek and Angels and Demons, based on the book of Dan Brown.
The main word you have learnt is:
Reggia: royal palace, the residence of a king and his court. You can find this word in the Italian expression “questa casa è una reggia” (“this house is a royal palace”, when you consider the house as something beautiful and perfect).
Alessandra Martinetto