The castle of Caserta was built for the Spanish King Charles III from 1752. Charles III. was at that time Carlo VII of the Kingdom of Naples and Sicily. His wife Maria Amalia of Saxony had great influence on the construction of the "Reggia di Caserta". The Monumental Glory was to surpass Versailles. Charles III. came from the Bourbons, Louis XIV was his great-grandfather. The architect Luigi Vanvitelli planned the castle as a rectangular building with four courtyards. The early Classicist facade is 252 meters long, the interiors are still late Baroque, with lots of gold and huge ceiling paintings. The 40 m high building devoured 8 million ducats and was completed in 1772. Charles III. became King of Spain in 1759 and moved to his hometown of Madrid, where he built, among other things, the famous Museum Prado. The castle in Caserta is one of Italy's biggest tourist attractions, attracting over 1.5 million visitors a year. The Baroque Parco Reale Reggia di Caserta with its numerous pools and the enchanting Giardino Inglese (English Garden) are just as worth seeing as the Royal Castle itself. The "Reggia di Caserta" and its gardens are UNESCO World Heritage sites.

Opening hours and current information check the website of the "Reggia di Caserta".

Reggia di Caserta

www.reggiadicaserta.beniculturali.it

The Roman city of Pompeii was buried in 79 AD at an eruption of Vesuvius under a 6-meter-thick layer of ash. For many centuries the place remained unpopulated and only in the 11th century was a new village nearby. From 1748, the very well preserved city was re-excavated on the initiative of Maria Amalia Christina Queen of Naples. The excavation site of Pompeii is the best preserved city of antiquity. In Pompeii you can walk through the old streets and go to the houses.

Pompeii was around 700 ago. Founded by the Oskans at around 80 BC. Were subjugated by the Romans and then integrated into the Roman Empire. Pompeii is therefore not a Roman planned city but consists of 4 different settlement phases. At the time of the sinking, Pompeii had about 10,000 inhabitants. Since there were already signs of an eruption of the volcano, many residents were brought to safety.

In Pompeii, many large structures have been preserved. There are several theaters, many temples, an amphitheater, spas, brothels, the Forum, the Capitol and worth seeing houses, such as the "Mystery Villa" Villa dei Misteri.

"Pompei Scavi" is the most famous sight on the Gulf of Naples and UNESCO World Heritage.

From Naples: Take the S-Bahn "Circumvesuviana" from Garibaldi to Pompei-Scavi. Travel time approx. 45 min.

Opening hours and admission check the link below.

Pompei

www.pompeiisites.org

Herculaneum, like the famous Pompeii, sank under an ash rain from Vesuvius in 79 AD. In 1709 the sunken city was rediscovered by a farmer drilling a well. The archaeological excavation field of "Ercolano Scavi" is located in the middle of the city, which is around 20 m above the ancient Roman city. Due to the overbuilding from the Middle Ages, only about 1/5 of the ancient city could be excavated so far. Due to the higher layer of ash, more has been preserved in Herculaneum than in Pompeii. The systematic excavations in Herculaneum began in 1738 under King Charles of Naples. Many residents of Herculaneum could not escape in time and were buried alive under the hot cloud of ash. 300 skeletons were found in the port of Ercolano. Those who fled across the sea were most likely killed by a pyroclastic current that swept over the Bay of Naples with hot gases.

Ercolano Scavi

The 46 square kilometer island of Ischia is of volcanic origin and known for its hot thermal springs. About 60,000 people live on the island. The highest point is the 789 m high Monte Epomeo. Another attraction of Ischia is the Gardini La Mortella in Forio. The garden was laid out by Lady Walton together with the garden architect Page. In this wonderful garden you can be enchanted by tropical and Mediterranean plants.

Isola d'Ischia

www.visitischia.com

The Amalfi Coast is the south coast of the Sorrentine Peninsula, named after the city of Amalfi. The rocky cliffs, the Grotta di Smeraldo, the fishing village of Positano, Amalfi and the garden of Villa Cimbrone in Ravello are the most famous attractions of the Amalfi Coast.

Amalfiküste

One of the most famous excursion destinations from Naples is the beautiful island of Capri. There are cultural treasures and unique natural wonders to discover on the small island. The Blue Grotto and Villa Maleparte are world famous. We also highly recommend a tour around the island where you can admire the highlights of Capri from a boat. For this reason we have dedicated a separate section to the island of Capri.

Capri

The most famous attraction of Pozzuoli is the Roman amphitheater from the 1st century AD. The Pozzuoli Amphitheater had seats for around 20,000 spectators. The arena is well preserved and you can even visit the underground passages. The remains of the former facade lie in the high halls. You can see huge capitals and remains of marble columns down here. At that time, wild animals, gladiators and prisoners were housed here until they had to fight for their lives in the arena. The amphitheater is around 150 m long and around 115 m wide. At that time it was the third largest arena in the Roman Empire.

Via Anfiteatro, Pozzuoli

Pozzuoli was an important port city in the Roman Empire. Here the grain deliveries from Egypt that supplied Rome were brought ashore. The "Macellum" market square was therefore the most important building in town. A Serapid temple stood in the market square. Serapis was a god of fertility originally from Egypt who came to Europe via Greece.

The square is now about 4 m below the city, which has to do with the extreme altitude fluctuations caused by volcanism in the area. The active Phlegraean fields "Campi Flegrei" begin about 1.5 kilometers further east.

Via Serapide, Pozzuoli

If you want to go to the beach from Naples, Torregaveta is the perfect destination. The small town is the terminus of the railway line that runs west from Naples. Torregaveta is less than 20 kilometers from Naples city center (Naples-Montesanto train station) and yet you are in a different world. You are no longer on the Bay of Naples, but directly on the sea. On the left side you can see the island of Ischia and a 50 km long sandy beach extends to the north. From Torregaveta train station you can already see the ocean, there is a pier and a few restaurants. If you go north, the beach is densely built up. After about 2 kilometers the nature reserve Riserva Naturale Costa di Licola begins with a dune and forest landscape. Behind the beach is Cumae, an ancient Greek colony famous for its Sibylle Grotto. Cumae was founded around 740 BC.

Torregaveta