When Charles of Bourbon became king of Naples he wanted to build a mansion outside the city that could compete in beauty with the majestic royal residences of Versailles and Shönbrunn. The architect Luigi Vanvitelli thus created a magnificent palace, whose gardens, with spectacular waterfalls and monumental fountains fed by an aqueduct built for the occasion, have become among the most famous in the world. The interiors, decorated between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, leave the visitor amazed in every room: the entrance staircase, the vestibule, the palatine chapel, the court theatre, the still intact furnishings and the throne room make this sumptuous residence among the most beautiful in Europe.