Don't miss the opportunity to visit the majestic Royal Palace of Caserta and its splendid gardens on a half-day tour that will leave you breathless.

The Royal Palace of Caserta bears witness to the grandeur and ambition of King Charles of Bourbon, who desired to elevate Naples to a capital befitting the great European powers of the time. It's no wonder it's been dubbed the "Versailles of Italy." Commissioned to rival the magnificence of Versailles, the palace was strategically located in the plain of Terra di Lavoro, atop the site once occupied by the 16th-century Palazzo degli Acquaviva. Entrusting the project to architect Luigi Vanvitelli, son of the renowned painter Gaspar Van Wittel, construction began in 1752 with the laying of the first stone. However, progress slowed after King Charles of Bourbon departed for Madrid in 1759, and it was only through the efforts of Carlo Vanvitelli and subsequent architects that the palace's construction was finally completed in 1845. The result was a grand complex with 1,200 rooms acclaimed as the last great achievement of Italian Baroque architecture.