Carriage with one horse, per drive within the town or to the station, 35 c, with two horses 60 c; drive in the royal gardens (‘le Reali Delizie'), per hr. with one horse, 1 fr. 30 c., with two horses, 2 1/2 fr., each additional 1/2 hr. 50 or 85 c. ; to Santa Maria di Capua Vetere 1 fr. 40 or 2 fr. 30, to Capua 2 fr. 25 or 3 fr. 90 c.
For a Visit to the Palace (interior 12-4; the garden till sunset) a per messo from the royal intendant at the Palazzo Reale at Naples (p. 35) is required, but it may, if necessary, be obtained on the spot. Fee 1 fr.; for the chapel 25 c.
Caserta, a clean and well-built town with 19,000 inhab. ('commune' 30,600) and a large garrison, may be called the Versailles of Naples. It possesses several palaces and barracks, and is the residence of the prefect of the province of Caserta. It was founded in the 8th cent, by the Lombards on the slope of the hill, but the modern town stands on lower ground.
The Royal Palace of Caserta, opposite the station, was erected in 1752, by Vanvitelli, by order of King Charles III., in the richest Italian palatial style. It forms a rectangle. The S. side is 830 ft, long and 134 ft. high, with thirty-seven windows in each story. The courts of the palace are traversed by a colonnade, from the centre of which ascends the handsome marble staircase, with 116 steps. The marble statue of Vanvitelli , by Buccini , was erected, in 1879. The palace is at present unoccupied.
The Chapel, sumptuously decorated with marble, imitated lapis lazuli, and gold, contains a 'Presentation in the Temple’ by Mengs, five paintings by Conca, and an altar-piece by Bonito. — The Theatre is adorned with twelve Corinthian columns of African marble from the so-called Temple of Serapis at Pozzuoli, and contains forty boxes, besides that appropriated to the royal family.
The Garden, with its lofty pruned hedges, contains beautiful fountains and cascades, adorned with statues. The grand terrace above the cascade (2 M. from the palace) affords beautiful points of view. The Botanical Garden is interesting as proving that the trees of the colder north can be grown here with success. The Casino Reale di San Leucio, in the park, about 2 M. to the N., near some large silk-factories, commands another fine prospect.
About 3 M. to the N.E. of the palace, on an elevated site, is Caserta Vecchia, with several deserted palaces and the 12th cent, church of San Michele.