Thurs 7th – Fri 8th May
Accommodation: Le Muse booked on Booking.com.
Thurs 7th May
Our drive from Formia down to Caserta was only going to take about 2 hours so we filled in the time before check in at our next accommodation with a visit to the archaeological site of Anfiteatro Campano and the historic medieval village of Casertavecchio.
Anfiteatro Campano (1st Century AD) was a most impressive site and is apparently second in size only to Rome’s Colosseum. We have been fortunate to visit a few different Roman amphitheaters but this was the first one where we got to go to the underground area, the vast area below the arena. It was a rather surreal experience to be following in the footsteps of persecuted people that we’ve spent time considering over the years, and even studying at school. Previously we’d only been up in the stands, where the blood thirsty onlookers sat but to be down where the traumatized victims were held was another thing altogether. It was a rather chilling experience. Our visit took up about 90 minutes but we weren’t able to visit the museum as it was closed. I would highly recommend a visit to this amphitheater if you’re ever in the region and make use of the audio guide (available at extra cost).
It was about another 30 minutes of driving to reach Casertavecchio and this was a good way to fill in some time but not a place I’d urge you to visit. The hilltop town dates back to the year 1,000 AD and was built on the site of a former Roman village. It does give you the opportunity to see what medieval village life would have been like but we probably missed a bit of the special vibe that was so keenly advertised as many places seemed to be closed for siesta. It did help us fill in some more time though.
It was about a 30 minute drive from Casertavecchia down to the new town area of Caserta and we needed to park the car and unload our luggage at a parking station, located about a 10 minute walk from our apartment, as the apartment was in a restricted ZTL pedestrian-only zone. This involved a bit of a challenging drag of our bags along cobbled streets only to find the effort was barely rewarded once we reached the apartment. It was only ok but was just for one night so we set down our bags. Pollyanna would have said the place was well located, spacious and clean (on the inside at least). However, the apartment didn’t really live up to the description on the booking site and the outside terrace area, a huge draw card for me, was dirty, unkept, and missing the lovely dining table, chairs and umbrellla from the photos on the booking site. We had intended to dine at home tonight but with rather glum setting and the fact the kitchen was so poorly set up (kettle not working, coffee machine broken, no way to light the gas hob to cook or boil water, no microwave and, a huge negative for Mark was that there was no bottle opener), we decided to eat out. I had nearly considered trying to get an extra night here, instead of staying at the hotel in Formia, so I’m very glad I didn’t do that! The main reason I had chosen to stay in this area at all was so as to visit the popular UNESCO world heritage site of the Royal Palace, likened to a mini-Versailles, and we had a guided tour booked for there tomorrow morning.
One good thing about this apartment though was that it had a washing machine and so that was the very first task we set about doing once we had settled in. It was after 5.30 pm before we ventured back out and we strolled the local area in an effort to find somewhere for dinner that was open before 7.30 pm. This was not an easy task and we had almost given up hope but them we stumbled upon Salumeria di Turno. This turned out to be a great find where we had some delicious food and wine and it is somewhere I’d recommend if you’re ever in the area. Mark had a glass of wine that he so enjoyed we bought a bottle to take with us to Sorrento. We were back home by 7.30 pm which worked out well as we were both pretty exhausted (jet lag and we’d walked 14 km today!) and wanted an early night.
Fri 8th May
The main reason for stopping off in Caserta was to visit the Royal Palace and our 3hr guided tour was from 10am – 1pm. We had a rather full day ahead of us, with the Palace tour and then the drive down to Sorrento, so we had a lazy morning before checking out of the apartment, putting our luggage back in the car and heading off to find our tour guide.
Our guide for the tour was a lady by the name of Alexia and she was excellent. I would even go so far as to say she is the best tour guide we have ever had. She didn’t stop talking for the whole 3 hours and you could tell she was passionate about her work and the Royal Palace.
All of the literature describes the Royal Palace of Caserta as a mini Versailles but that is incorrect because this palace is actually the largest in the whole world. It was the most amazing structure located right in town but not visible to the casual observer strolling town. Caserta city itself is rather ordinary with the charm of so many cities that had been bombed during WW2. It has a population of about 75,000, similar in size to Tamworth NSW, so the presence of such an amazing and opulent palace right in the city is absolutely confounding.
It was primarily the domain of King Ferdinand and Queen Carolina but was originally commissioned by Ferdinand’s father, King Charles. Charles chose Caserta to move to from Naples as he thought it would be safer: away from water and potential attack by ships, it was surrounded by mountains and was further away from Vesuvius. Alexia was particularly fond of Queen Carolina and explained it was her that really ran the place. Carolina was fluent in many languages, was an avid reader and a sophisticated individual who appreciated art and culture. All of this whilst bearing 17 children!!
It was a most fascinating morning of discovery and I’d highly recommended a visit to the region just to visit the Royal Palace.
