The Bourbon royal palace or
Reggia of Caserta is being "ruined" by a visitor surge, unions
who work at the famed site said Tuesday.
"The decorated flooring and the exquisite furniture is under
great stress, especially because of the free Sunday openings at
the beginning of the month," a union spokesman said, urging the
openings to be reduced.
The palace once used by the kings of Naples, is an
18th-century former royal residence near Naples and a UNESCO
World Heritage site open to the public, whose new director Mauro
Felicori was appointed through an international application
process.
The Reggia, built to rival Louis XIV's Paris chateau of
Versailles by the dynasty that ruled Naples, saw a string of
structural collapses in recent years, while its grand waterworks
ran dry because of local farmers punching holes in pipes for
their crops.
The government stepped in and ordered a massive renovation
project that was completed last NOvember.
The massive palace was dreamed up by Bourbon King Charles
III, who hoped it would one day be as famous as Versailles.
Designed as the new capital of the Bourbon Kingdom, it was
lost to the Napoleonic invasion for several years but returned
to the Bourbon House in 1815.
In 1860, it became the property of the royal family of the
new Italian state, the Savoys, before finally ending up in State
hands in 1919.
The palace complex, which has won awards for its beautiful
gardens, was based on designs by papal architect Luigi
Vanvitelli and took nearly 100 years to complete.
The courtyards, vestibules, park and Palatine Chapel of the
landmark have featured in several Hollywood movies.
The building's interior appeared in George Lucas's second
Star Wars trilogy, where it was the home of the young Queen
Amidala, Natalie Portman's breakout role.
It has also doubled as the Vatican in two more recent
blockbusters, Mission: Impossible III and Ron Howard's
adaptation of the Dan Brown prequel to the Da Vinci Code, Angels
& Demons.
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