The Court Theater of the Royal Palace of Caserta opens almost every day throughout the fall and winter

The Royal Palace of Caserta is expanding its museum offerings: throughout the fall and winter, the Court Theater will open almost every day, with more extended hours and arrangements than usual, despite the museum’s very serious staff shortage.

The Court Theater of the Royal Palace of Caserta, inaugurated on the occasion of the visit of the new Queen Maria Carolina, wife of Ferdinand IV, scheduled for the Carnival of 1769, is a jewel of 18th-century theatrical architecture, for the perfection of its proportions, acoustic quality and sumptuousness of its decorations.

The earliest records date back to 1752. Work on the palace had already been underway for a few months when King Charles of Bourbon asked architect Luigi Vanvitelli to build it. Unlike other European court theaters, located in buildings off-center from the central core of the royal residences, this space is inserted in one of the bodies of the Reggia and perfectly integrated into the system of pathways. In fact, it is located in the center of the western side of the Palace. It has a horseshoe shape with five tiers of boxes, richly decorated by Gaetano Magri. The frescoed vault with Apollo trampling the serpent Python, by Crescenzo La Gamba, is supported by alabaster columns. An element that characterizes the theater scene is also the possibility of using the green area behind it as a natural backdrop. The expedient was devised in 1722 on the occasion of the performance of Pietro Metastasio’s Dido Abandoned, which involved the burning of the city of Carthage: an opening was opened on the wall behind the stage with a view of the Malalocata garden.

The Court Theater will be open (except for free days when it will be closed):

Oct. 1 to Oct. 31, 2024, daily, Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. - with last access at 12:45 p.m. - and on Saturdays and Sundays (thanks to the collaboration of the Italian Touring Club) from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. - with last access at 12:45 p.m;

from November 1, 2024, to February 28, 2025, excluding midweek holidays, Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. - with last access at 6:50 p.m. - and on Saturdays and Sundays (thanks to the cooperation of the Italian Touring Club) from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. - with last access at 12:45 p.m;

from March 1 to March 31, 2025, excluding midweek holidays, Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. - with last access at 12:45 p.m. - and Saturdays and Sundays (thanks to the collaboration of the Italian Touring Club) from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. - with last access at 12:45 p.m.

The visit to the Court Theater is part of the cost of the Museum ticket/subscription.

The Court Theater of the Royal Palace of Caserta opens almost every day throughout the fall and winter

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