Your trip to Caserta
starts here!
Look up: the Royal Palace is right there!
As soon as you step out of Hotel Regina, look up: the façade of the Royal Palace of Caserta, designed by Luigi Vanvitelli in the 18th century and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, awaits you just a few steps away. Just like the San Leucio Silk Factory and the Caroline Aqueduct, which, at 38 kilometres in length, still brings water here to this day. You’re not just any tourist: you’re a guest of the Esposito family, and since 1996 we’ve been helping visitors to Caserta discover this region, which is brimming with treasures.
The avenue that deceives you
From the Royal Palace to Caserta Vecchia: what a journey!
Walk along the avenue of the Royal Park of the Royal Palace of Caserta, which stretches for around 3 kilometres to the Great Waterfall: from where you’re standing, the water seems to flow just a stone’s throw away from you, but this is the “telescope effect” – the optical illusion that Luigi Vanvitelli designed to amaze visitors. Carry on walking, or hop on one of our bikes, and the landscape changes once again: at the San Leucio Silk Factory, founded by Ferdinand IV of Bourbon, where silk has been woven ever since 1778. Higher up, amongst the cobbled streets of Caserta Vecchia, it feels as though you’ve stepped back in time. Pop into reception before you set off: we’ll tell you where to start, depending on how much time you have.
Did you know that?
From the foundation stone to a mystery to be unravelled
A Latin phrase was engraved on the foundation stone of the Royal Palace of Caserta, laid in 1752: “Deliciae Regis, Felicitas Populi” – the sovereign’s delights are the people’s happiness. It wasn’t a whim: it was the promise of a project designed to bring well-being to the whole community. From that stone onwards, the Royal Palace has continued to harbour countless stories and curiosities, such as that of an object found in one of its rooms which 19th-century officials mistook for a musical instrument. But what was it really? We’ll tell you all about it on our blog, one interesting fact at a time.
FAQs
The San Leucio Silk Factory is situated about 3.5 kilometres from the centre of Caserta, just a few minutes’ drive or cycle ride from Hotel Regina: it was here, in 1778, that Ferdinand IV of Bourbon founded an independent textile community, which is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site alongside the Royal Palace of Caserta.
Caserta Vecchia is about 10 kilometres from Hotel Regina and can be reached in about 20 minutes by car. Don’t miss the medieval village with its cobbled streets, the Romanesque cathedral, and the castle overlooking the Caserta plain from above.
No: the Royal Palace of Caserta is just a few minutes’ walk from Hotel Regina. For the rest of the area, we provide bicycles, tandems, and rickshaws, or we can arrange a transfer on request.
You’ll need an average of four or five hours to explore the Royal Apartments and the Park at a leisurely pace, while the park’s main avenue alone – a return walk to the Great Waterfall – takes at least two hours on foot: we’ll help you plan your time accordingly, depending on how much you want to see.
The Royal Park is open to visitors all year round, except on Tuesdays, when the Royal Palace of Caserta is closed: spring and early autumn offer the most pleasant temperatures for the long walk to the Great Waterfall.
