Tour one of the largest and most opulent palaces in Europe on a 2-hour guided tour of the Royal Palace of Caserta, located at the foot of the Campanian Subapennine mountain range. Commissioned by King Charles of Bourbon in 1751, the architect Luigi Vanvitelli designed a palace that could compete with the large residences of European monarchs. Marvel at his architectural masterpiece on a tour of some of the 1,200 rooms, illuminated by 1,970 windows. Stroll in the gardens to see the great waterfall with its marble statue of Actaeon at the moment he was transformed into a stag by the goddess Diana. The park covers 120 acres, with long avenues and many buildings that can be explored on foot or by carts. In the atrium of the main building you will find a majestic staircase of 116 steps and marble statues that lead to the upper vestibule and Palatine Chapel, with its vaulted ceilings and gilded rosettes. Look at the royal apartments, decorated in a mix of Rococo and Neoclassic styles, and learn how the best painters and cabinet makers contributed to create the highest decoration of 18th-century Italy in the King’s apartment, Murat's apartment, court theater, and more.