La Reggia di Caserta (Royal Palace) is located northwest of Salerno, about an hour ride by local (i.e. slow) train. Constructed in 1752 for the Bourbon (Spanish, not alcohol-related!) King of Naples, Charles III, it rivals Versailles in its sheer opulence, and is the largest Royal Palace in the world, with 1200 rooms and covering 2 million square meters. 
A mere five minute walk from the train station, this UNESCO World Heritage site is a popular site for tourists and is an easy day trip from Naples. The day was quite warm and sunny, and the crowds exponentially increased in size as the day progressed. Our group of ten students from L’Accademia Italiana was accompanied by the charming and debonair Renato, one of the teachers, and Veronica, the leisure activity director. We arrived by train from Salerno around noon and went directly to the Palace. The courtyard was being set up for an event for Thun Club members (apparently for collectors of Christmas-themed collectibles). They were literally coming in by bus loads, especially after we finished our tour of the palace. We toured part of the first floor, predominantly receiving rooms and salons decorated in a baroque/rococo style. 
It was truly “over the top”, and difficult to reconcile the garish excesses when considering the profound poverty that the local population suffered.
An extensive presepio was displayed in the palace, representing the local Neapolitan population in the nativity scene.
Note the water bufalas (as in mozzarella di Bufala).
The grounds were equally impressive, with the symmetric Italian-style garden extending for three kilometers 
to an ornate fountain fed by waters transported from 30 km away by an aqueduct built expressly for that purpose.
In contrast to the formality of the Italian garden, there was an adjacent English-style garden, with its meandering paths, ponds, and many varieties of trees.
After about four hours in the palace and gardens, we headed back to the train station, anxious to get back to Salerno and take a well deserved nap on the return train ride.
I was especially tired as I had spent a couple of morning hours exploring the public market prior to joining the group. It’s not a huge market but pretty much sells anything, with an extensive selection of clothing items, albeit of low quality, in addition to the usual fruits and vegetables.
And I saw some interesting characters, too!
The rest of the evening consisted of a quiet dinner a fuori – it’s still quite warm here.
But no, I did not have any cake today – not even any gelato.
Camino Musings 