Tea at Trianon: Caserta

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Saturday, April 23, 2022

Caserta

Home of Marie-Antoinette's beloved sister, Queen Maria Carolina. From Stars and Stripes:

The Royal Park features vast lawns, wooded areas, reflecting pools, fountains and gardens, making it a perfect place to take the kids to explore or find a quiet spot away from the chaos that is Naples. To get there, take a 45-minute train ride from Naples Centrale station to Caserta. It won’t be hard to find the palace; it’s across the street from the train station. A five-minute walk across an expansive garden puts you at the main entrance.
From there, you have a choice to make. Head straight through the palace’s portico and out the back entrance if you want to see the park first. Midway through the portico, on the right, is an impressive staircase leading to the palace’s apartments.

Depending on the time of year, the park can close as early as 3:30 p.m., and caretakers are very firm about closing time. The apartments close at 7:30 p.m., with the last admission at 6:30 p.m. Once you step through the palace’s back entrance, stop to take in the telescopic view leading from the parterre through a series of reflecting pools, also known as the waterway, to the Great Waterfall. (Read more.)