20593 to Cassino: The mountain route to Caserta
The straightforward train trip from Tivoli to Napoli would be by going to Roma Termini and take a direct train from there. The much more interesting route is continueing the line from Tivoli into the mountains to Avezzano and take a connecting train from there through the Abruzzi and down the valley of the Liri river towards Cassino. In Cassino I can decide about staying or going on to Caserta, to visit the enormous palace of the kings of both Sicilies, or to Napoli Centrale.
Regionale Veloce to Avezzano arriving in Tivoli
After the deluge yesterday it is steaming hot today. In my new, bigger room, I search for the remote control of the air conditioning. I cannot find it. But maybe the one in the room I used last night works in the new room as well. I haven't heard anything of other guests in this B&B – the hall where the coffee machine and fridge wait for users looks untouched and I am sure there is nobody else. Then I could go to the other room and borrow the remote. I try and the door is not locked. But a ray of light immediately shines through the gap between door and frame. I haste to quickly and silently close the door and jump back to my room. After I have made sure to turn my room key I hear that the door to the other room also is locked. In a traditional B&B this would never have happened: you would meet and know host and guests.
The hilltop town of Vicovaro
I go to the station. The ticket machine charges me 9.70 € for the regional train to Cassino, four and a half hours of train pleasure. As usual I am early and able to board train 4544 to Avezzano at 9.01. I am the only one in the spacious upper floor of the coach. The double deck trains offer a splendid view of the landscape along the route up the Aniene valley. Swaying precariously the train climbs up the mountainsides covered in deciduous forest. Old towns appear on the crest of the mountains. Most of the stations are modernized, the buildings unused. The line was modernized but reduced to the minimal necessary. I guess I don’t have to mention that the parallel motorway E80 is built without sparing any expense.
Viaduct close to Roviano
Avezzano lies on a plateau overlooked by the Monte Velino massif. The peak of 2487 m is the center of the Sirente-Velino Regional Park where Italian wolf, wild boar and the Marsican brown bear roam. The northern slope of the mountain houses a modest ski area and from here some remnant patches of snow are visible in the folds high up even on the south slope.
Monte Velino above the former Fucino lake bed
The plateau around Avezzano is the former lake-bed of lake Fucino, once the biggest lake in peninsular Italy and the third biggest in the state. Being a Karst lake without obvious outlet, its water level was subject to considerable regular changes. The marshy floodplain was a source for Malaria. Therefore the lake was completely drained in the 19th century. The first attempts had already been made in 52 AD under emperor Claudius. 25,000 slaves were needed to dig 32 wells and six tunnels. Although most of the lake indeed was drained, the tunnels clogged up after the fall of the Roman Empire and the waters returned to the previous level. Many centuries later, Jean François Mayor de Montricher completed the original project of emperor Claudius and turned the lake bed into a fertile, healthy and fertile plain. Agriculture on that newly available land turned Avezzano into an affluent town.
Regionale Veloce has arrived in Avezzano
The station of Avezzano is under reconstruction. The elevators don’t work, the station building is closed, there is no luggage disposal and the paid toilets are locked with padlocks. However, the bar is open. I have plenty of time and decide to use it for a stroll into town even though I to drag all my luggage along. Since it is on the flood plain of the former lake Avezzano is on completely flat territory and the town center is close to the station. After I eventually find the exit I also succeed in crossing the station square which is designed for arrivals by car and there is no space for pedestrians.
Although the town doesn’t offer spectacular sights it is a pleasure to roam through the quiet, clean and tree shaded streets. There are a couple of pleasant parks. The men sit in the shade and spin their yarn while the women chat in one of the cafes and gelaterias or pass their time in one of the impressive number of beauty salons. I also settle at a table at an establishment at the Piazza Risorgimento, the main square of the town and wonder whether the number of law offices and representatives of the medical profession is somehow related.
Massive as it is the Orsini-Colonna Castle will withstand all earthquakes
The only historic building is the Orsini-Colonna Castle. Most of the castle was destroyed in an earthquake on January 15th, 1915. It was one of the worst earthquakes in Italian history. More than 30.000 people were killed. Afterwards the town was completely rebuilt with a different, regular pattern of streets.
Train 20193 to Cassino in Avezzano
Train 20193 to Cassino is one of those Diesel railcars which for unknown reason are favored by many European rail companies for their secondary lines. Most of my fellow passengers are frustrated looking teenagers on their way home from school. They are surprisingly quiet. One of them immediately lies down and falls asleep. They are in the age when they have their final exams and I am afraid that did not work out well for them.
Capistrello
The railcar climbs up into the mountains and passes through a tunnel in a turn of almost 360 degrees underneath the hill-top town of Capistrello. Afterwards it descends into the valley of the Liri river. It is obvious that this beautiful line is not in the best of shapes. The numerous bridges are passed in a crawl. High mountains frame the view but the quiet valley gradually widens while the train rolls down towards Cassino on its two hour journey.
Civitella Rovetom, many of the towns in the Roveto valley suffered from the 1915 earthquake
The frustrated school kids have left early on. They are replaced by a girl who will be on her phone until we arrive in Cassino. By then the few passengers know that somebody is about to die. That is the reason why she has to miss school. She gets more and more agitated. One of those occasions when I would love to hear more.
The Abruzzi mountains lining the Roveto valley
Other passengers only get in during the approach to Cassino, among them a couple of teenage boys. In Cassino I have another 90 minutes before a train leaves for Caserta or Napoli.
The abbey of Montecassino is visisble from far
Cassino is known for the abbey of Montecassino on the top of mount Cairo above the town. The abbey can be seen from far away while the train approaches the town. In 1230, holy Roman emperor Frederick II, at the time not considered to be very holy by his ennemy, the pope, met Gregory IX here to sign a peace treaty. However, in general, the strategic position of the town had its disadvantages. Regularly somebody came through and had to destroy it, such as 577 the Lombards, 883 the Sarazens, 1503 the French and 1815 the Austrians. In 1349 nobody attacked, so an earthquake did the job.
The beautiful, classic italian station of Cassino
But the worst ordeal was yet to come. In 1944 the mountains around Cassino were a crucial point in the Gustav line, the German line of defense against the advancing allies. Although the abbey on its mountain top was regarded as important cultural heritage and full of locals who had taken refuge there, it was destroyed in an allied air raid. Then, on March 15, the town was completely destroyed by bombs and artillery. More than 2000 civilians died. After the end of the war a malaria epidemic took additional victims.
Montecassino abbey overlooking the staton square
Meanwhile the abbey and the fortress of Rocca Janula are reconstructed. In addition to the interesting history, Cassino also has several worthwhile archaeological, historic and art musea and therefore would be an interesting place to stop for a couple of nights. Instead I sit down at the cafe facing the station and have a thimble of coffee for 1.20 € and a piece of pastry for 2.50 €. And I get entertained. On a spot in the square in front of the station which is not occupied by cars the teenagers from the train have joined a group of others to practice breakdance.
Cafe facing the station of Cassino
I have decided to spend the next couple of nights in Caserta. It is another hour on train 5813 to Napoli Centrale. Although the train is rather empty, I have the pleasure that two very pretty, very naked girls with hair like black straw sit down next to me who think their few fellow passengers like to be entertained with some noisy bullshit from their phones. They are on their way to Napoli to have fun.
Many an italian station has preserved its cafe
From where do the Italians get the money for all these works? Caserta is another station which has the privilege to be entirely rebuilt. Of course the elevators dont’t work. It takes me some time to find the exit because the entire building is closed and fenced off. The station square is chaotic. There is no sidewalk or pedestrian crossing, the only way to get towards the town is by walking on the busy street. The hotel is the closest to the station and at the same time the closest to the most important sight of Caserta, the palace of the kings of two Silicies, the Reggia di Caserta.
In the station of Caserta
Relying heavily on Wikipedia, it is interesting to dwell a little with those Bourbons, the noble line who reigned Naples and Sicily during the time the Reggia di Caserta was built. In 1734, during the War of the Polish Succession, Charles, Duke of Parma and Piacenza who commanded the Spanish armies, conquered the Kingdom of Naples and in 1735 the Kingdom of Sicily, from the Austrians. He was crowned king but only in exchange for the renunciation of his other Italian titles, which went, among others to the Habsburgs. So they basically fought a war and the result was that they exchanged their territories….
The Reggia of Caserta
Charles of Bourbon was the son of Philip V of Spain who was king of Naples and Sicily between 1700 and 1713 as well as king of Spain between 1700 and 1746. He was the founder of the Bourbon dynasty of Spain which again derived from the Bourbons of France. In 1738 Charles celebrated his victory by marrying fourteen-year-old Maria Amalia of Saxony. They had thirteen children.
The central entrance to the Reggia
Charles of course had a fantastic little palace in Naples grouped around four courtyards with plenty of rooms but Naples was a dangerous turf for a ruler. Those Neapolitans did not want to listen and regularly revolted. Therefore Charles commissioned a Royal Palace of Caserta. Its 1200 rooms not only were destined to house the royal family but also the administration of the kingdom. The foundation stone was laid on January 20, 1752. This was the time of the absolute rulers, the kings of the sun. Like the domains of present day billionaires, it had to have one prime characteristic: it had to be big. The standard was high: the Spanish Royal palace in Escorial has 4000 rooms, the French Royal palace in Versailles has 2300.
Inner courtyard of the Reggia
However, in 1759 Charles’ half-brother Ferdinand VI of Spain died. Since there was no other heir Charles ascended to the throne of Spain with the name of Charles III. Therefore he had to abdicate from his Neapolitan throne. His Italian properties were inherited by his third son Ferdinand I, 8 years old, who became Ferdinand IV for the Kingdom of Naples and Ferdinand III for the Kingdom of Sicily. So eight year old Ferdinand moved into the construction site of his fathers solar dream.
The staircase to the Royal apartments
The nomination of Charles as king of Spain and of Ferdinand as king of the two Sicilies created the definitive separation between the Bourbon line of the Spanish crown and the Neapolitan and Sicilian ones. Together with the French there were three lines of Bourbon kings now.
Entrance of the apartments
Ferdinand ruled until his death in 1825 and had 17 children (and a stillborn daughter) from his first wife alone. One of them was Maria Theresa, Empress of Austria, after she married the Emperor of Austria, her first cousin, Francis I in 1890. She died in 1807. They were not so inventive about names in that time so watch out: this was not the famous Maria Theresa, who was empress of Austria until she died in 1780. Interesting about it is that the Bourbons were now also family of their former enemies, the Habsburgs, with whom they had fought about Naples not so long ago.
One of the smaller rooms
When Ferdinand died in 1825, the palace in Caserta still was not finished. The ongoing works were inherited by his son, Francis I of the Two Sicilies (1777 – 1830). Francis did not do a lot of building because he died after 5 years. His son, Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies (1810-1859) took over. Officially, the palace was completed in 1845.
The throne room
The palace was designed by Luigi Vanvitelli, however, he did not live long enough so the works were continued under the supervision of his son Carlo and other architects. The building has a central entrance which allows an arcaded passage to the enormous garden. The rooms are grouped around four courtyards. An enormous staircase gives access to the royal apartments.
Pigoen making good use of a leaking faucet in the courtyard
Only a small part of the palace can be visited. I am wandering around to find the entrance to the theater. In one of the courtyards a faucet is dripping. A pigeon has settled on top of it and waits to catch the next drop which collects. Eventually I ask in the souvenir shop and it turns out that it is only open on Sunday afternoon. However, it is possible to see the royal apartments, separate wings for the king and the queen, and the art gallery.
The throne
To enter the royal apartments you have to climb up the enormous staircase. Of course it is flanked by lions, what else? The lions come back at the bathtub and at the feet of the royal bed. There they are assisted by Greek gods. And of course the king on his throne can put his hands on armrests with the shape of a lion’s head.
The royal bed
The huge halls are lavishly decorated but there is little furniture. Some uncomfortable looking chairs stand forlornly like guards in the space. The vaulted ceilings are richly decorated with paintings and ornaments. It is supported by fake columns on the walls and fake golden copies of Greek goddesses decorate the space in between.
Table carried by lions
How is it when you sit at a tiny table with two chairs carried by winged lions in such an enormous and high room? It doesn’t look comfortable at all. Even an absolute ruler like the Neapolitan king must feel petty in such a space. Was that the idea of the design?
Cot for the royal babies
In the private rooms the children have to do it with eagles, which are used to support the cot. Whom are they supposed to impress? The many children can play with a huge roundabout with four little ships. A pool table provides distraction for the grown-ups.
A royal toy
Did they ever have a little mess in these rooms? Toys strewn on the floor of the children's rooms, clothes lying around in the dressing room or bedroom, books open to be read, dirty plates, paper full of notes?
Porto di santo stefano di Monopoli painted by Jacob Hackert
The gallery holds a whole series of paintings of the ports of the kingdom of two Sicilies. The German painter Jacob Philipp Hackert, born in 1737 in Prenzlau in Brandenburg, started to work for the king of the two Sicily after 1786. Besides from being an excellent painter Hackert had a really interesting life. He first worked in Sweden, then in Paris, and after he arrived in Italy in 1768, worked for clients such as the British envoy to the court, Sir William Hamilton, and the empress of Russia, Catherine the Great.
The marina de Sorrento by Jacob Hackert
Philipp Hackert also became a friend of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe when the latter visited Italy. During his work for Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies the painter had a little job on the side. He acted as a secret informant of Russia. Hackert died 1807 in Florence. Goethe wrote his biography in 1811.
Central aisle of the Reggia
The number of visitors to the palace is limited today. In particular in the painting gallery there is hardly anybody else. However, the guards in the rooms compensate for the silence with their own noise. Their conversations, which they conduct by shouting from room to room, echo all the more in the empty spaces. If they are not occupied in a loud conversation they are on their phones. And of course without a headphone.
The via di agua
The garden is so vast that they have a shuttle bus which brings the visitors to the upper end more than 3 km away. The park was included into the mountainous setting which was supposed to remind the king of his Spanish origins. Main attraction is the long water course, the via di agua, which is subdivided in terraces. At each terrace there is a fountain, Fontana di Eolo, Fontana di Cerere, Fontana di Venere e Adone, Fountain of Diana and Actaeon and at the top is crowned by the Cascata e Torreone.
Fountain of Diana and Actaeon
The Reggia di Caserta and the garden with its via di agua separate the center of Caserta from the western parts of the town. The main roads pass underneath the garden in tunnels.
The via di agua also crosses the main road
Unfortunately, most of the water course is under restoration and covered in scaffolds and sheets. The water spouts are out of order. Only the fountain of Diana and Actaeon is visible for the most part. People are working with grinders and chisels.
Statue in the garden
But next to the more formal central garden with its water courses is also the Giardino Inglese and the Bosco Vecchio, two separate areas which would be big enough for satisfying the pride of any nobleman.
The English garden
The English garden was commissioned by Queen Maria Carolina. It was inspired by Lord William Hamilton who also has been painted by Hackert. The garden was designed by English gardener and botanist John Andrew Graefer who lived in a cottage inside the garden. It was one of the first English gardens in Italy. In the English landscape park old historic green houses are still used to cultivate exotic plants. The income from the sale of plants helped maintaining the garden while the kingdom of Neapel began to wane.
The Castelluccia
The Bosco Vecchio was part of a separate mansion, the Castelluccia, which still can be seen after wandering through the mace of shadowy paths. The Peschiera Grande, a hugh pool, also was used to provide fish for the court.
Many parts of the palace and garden were never completely finished. The original plans involved many more statues and decorations which were never sculpted. Other parts deteriorated or disappeared after the palace was abandoned. Even today, with more than a million visitors roaming through the garden annually, it appears empty. How many guests did the king have to invite to give his garden a lively appearance?
Statue in the Bosco Vecchio
In 1997 the palace, together with the Carolino aqueduct and the belvedere di San Leucio, became a UNESCO monument. The latter, a former palace, was turned into a silk manufacture. It was king Ferdinand’s idea to create an autonomous community called “Ferdinandolpoli”. Next to the silk manufacture it included a royal mansion and residential areas for the employees. As such it was an early example of a social workers colony unique for its time (and today).
Fountain with the Delfian Sybille in the bosco vecchio
But how to get there from the Reggia? The upper exit of the royal gardens, which is not far from the San Leucio colony, is closed. When I ask in the visitors information they advice to go to the bus stop at the station to ask. The site should be open until 18.00. Google has no clue about a bus line going up there.
View of the Reggia and Vesuvio in the background from the belvedere di San Leucio
The bus stop at the station is an improvised area at the temporary exit since the terminal building itself is closed due to works. There are plenty of busses but no timetable or plan and not even signs where the different bus lines stop.
A challenge for a bus: the narrow alleys of Leucio
However, there is a container where a guy waits for people willing to buy a ticket. I ask him which bus is supposed to go to San Leucio. Unfortunately the knowledge of English seems to stop south off Rome. My rudimentary knowledge of Spanish or Latin doesn’t help much either. Eventually I make him write down bus O4 for Seta which is supposed to leave at 4.15 pm. I buy two tickets for 1.20 € each and he points in a direction where I should go. Later I discover that there is another, more organized stop for the city busses, those where the line number begins with an O, a couple of 100 m further on at the far end of the station building.
The entrance to the manufactura di seda in Leucio
However, when I walk in the indicated direction, I discover an old bus where the display board lists, among other places, Leucio. When a driver finally appears and gets on the display goes dark. I ask him and he acknowledges that he goes to Leucio and will depart at 16.05. A bit confused I get in and validate my ticket even though the bus number and time is different from what the guy in the container wrote down. I notice that the locals are just as clueless as myself and have to ask.
Behind the entrance gate
The bus departs on time and begins a big tour around old Caserta. Since the old town with its narrow streets is not suitable for busses we circle around the town center and then go through one of the tunnels underneath the royal gardens to arrive at the western side of town. It is admirable how the driver manages patiently to get through the narrow alleys in this part of town. There is hardly enough space for the bus; cars are parked in every open space, and the driver also has to avoid oncoming traffic. The curves are tight, and motorcyclists or scooter riders try to overtake even in the most blind spots.
The main gate to the manufacture
This area of town is chaotic and rundown. The street surface is full of potholes. The bus rumbles and creaks even at low speed. I follow the route on Google maps to get out at the stop closest to my destination. From there it is a short walk through an arch that marks the entrance to the colony of San Leucio.
The entrance from above after I had found the real entrance
However, the metal entrance gate to the driveway up to the main entrance of the mansion is closed and locked with a padlock which probably did not see a key for ages. A wet piece of paper in a weathered plastic cover indicates that the entrance to the area is up the hill to the left.
The living quarters for the workers
I walk up a sloping road along a row of attractive little houses built for the workers in the silk manufacture. The homes were designed with care to ensure they would last over time. They were equipped with running water and toilets. There was no difference between individuals, regardless of their occupation. Men and women enjoyed complete equality in a system based exclusively on meritocracy. Private property was abolished. Care for the elderly and infirm was guaranteed, and the value of brotherhood was extolled. Women received a dowry from the king to marry a member of the colony. Everyone had access to a common "charity fund," into which everyone contributed a portion of their earnings, a kind of retirement and invalidity insurance.
The main building
At the entrance a couple of youngsters sit on a wall and make noise. The rubbish that they brought along litters the road below to be appreciated by posterity. A bit further on an Italian couple stands clueless in front of another closed gate. While Google said that the museum is open until six a sign on the gate announce a closure time of 16.30. That is now. I see the open door of a cafe and some people walking around in the court yard and I think they must have gotten in somehow.
The courtyard and entrance to the museum
An indeed, 20 m to the right there is an open driveway. I wave the others, walk up past the door of the cafe and find another open entrance. Inside a fat, well-groomed cat lounges on the cash register. A man looks up expectantly from his phone. Yes, there is a guided tour, at 5 pm. The reduced ticket is 4 €. And there is still enough time to have a coffee and pastry in the beautiful cafe next door. I am the only guest.
The courtyard
The tour is in Italian although the guide speaks some English and can understand questions. There are only four of us, including the guide. The factory complex included, in addition to workers' housing, a park, a spinning mill, a cloth weaving mill, and also a school. 600 people once were employed here. It was closed in 1969.
Factory and palace in one building
King Charles of Bourbon sent local youths to France to teach them the art of weaving so that they could then work in the royal factories. In 1778 the Royal Colony of San Leucio was established. In 1789 a special statute established laws and rules valid only for this community. The silk workers had a lot of benefits. Workers were assigned a house within the colony. The king established the first modern compulsory school in Italy for both girls and boys where the kids of the workers enjoyed free education. The parents had to work 11 hours here, three less than in the rest of Europe.
The manufactural complex of San Leucio was a social experiment of the Age of Enlightenment. As a model for justice and social equity it was avant-garde in the world of the nations of the 18th century and even for the French and Marxist revolutions.
The production line
In the silk museum the eighteenth-century machinery used to weave the silk is preserved. Products from here became famous throughout the world and can be found in the White House in Washington DC, Buckingham Palace in London and the Quirinale Palace in Rome.
The royal apartment
The tour also visits the royal apartments. I ask myself why a king, who owns a 1200 room palace just 5 km away, had to have an apartment in his factory as well. The guide replies that the Neapolitan royal family had 22 palaces, so why not one here as well? The Dutch royal family owns and uses several palaces in the area of the Hague alone. The Bavarian king Ludwig II had three palaces outside Munich, two in Munich and several hunting lodges.
The king's study
But maybe the king preferred the familiarity and closeness of this snug little mansion. King Ferdinand organized celebrations here which he shared with the colony's population. In 1832 Ferdinand II married 20 year old Maria Cristina of Savoy (1812-1836). When she died, four years later, she had one son, Francis, who became King of the Two Sicilies as Francis II at the death of his father. But only one year later Ferdinand married again in 1837. With his second wife, Maria Theresa of Habsburg-Teschen (1816-1867) he had 12 children.
The streets of Caserta
Francis II of the Two Sicilies (1836-1894) ruled from his father's death in 1859 until 1861, the unification of Italy when the kingdom of two Sicilies was incorporated into the Kingdom of Italy. He remained pretender to the throne until his death.
Street cafes in Caserta
All this time factories and buildings of San Leucio continued to be expanded. However, King Ferdinand's utopian project ended with the unification of Italy. As state property it lost its special status.
A pizzeria in Caserta
I was afraid that I would have to wait for a long time for the next bus back into town, However, when I come back to the bus stop at the main road a bus turns up almost immediately. Close to the palace Caserta has a pleasant and lively old town. People stroll up and down the streets paved with irregular stone slabs. The area is restricted for car traffic but there are still enough locals driving through to be annoying.
The beautiful Piazza Dante
The old center of Caserta has a couple of attractive squares. The circular Piazza Dante is surrounded by arcades housing businesses and cafes. The apartments on the first floor have attractive balconies overlooking the square. However, they are unused, empty.
Piazza Dante
There is a lot going on. A procession drags people towards the Duomo. A couple of steps further on champagne is offered to the passer-by to motivate them for a visit to the vernissage of an exhibition of modern art in a small baroque church. In another alley a band is playing blues in front of the entrance to a bar.
Arts exhibition in a former church
Cafes, cocktail-bars, ice-cream parlors and restaurants occupy the blotchy cream colored old buildings. I end up in the Osteria Nunziatina. The interior with bare walls and an open kitchen is nicely and sparsely decorated with back and white photos and shelves filled with wine bottles and cooking books. Although it already is around 8 pm I am the only guest. I have pasta with a sauce of white beans as primi platti. But what should I take as a main course: tripa a la cicirinella with carots, tomatoes and black peper or coniglio all’Ischitana with alio, olio, tomatoes and basil? I order the rabbit and will have the tripa tomorrow. On the side a fennel and mandarin salad. Restaurants are cheap here. This is not Rome. And after two glasses of white wine the owner urges me to take a glass of red on the house, just to try it.
The quiet alleys of Caserta
The restaurant only fills reluctantly. A big group settles down. Without asking they receive water and bread in a paper bag as is common in Italy. After consulting the menu they ask for pizza. This is not a pizzeria, the owner replies. Friendly and patiently he shows them the way to another place where they get what they want.
When I leave, it looks like there are no other guests tonight.
Osteria Nunziatina
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