Old Gardens of Italy 159 



PALACE OF CASERTA, NEAR NAPLES. 



BUILT in 1752 for King Charles III. from designs 

 by Vanvitelli. The gardens are laid out in late 

 French style. Permission obtainable at the Palazzo 

 Reale, Naples. 



The feature of the grounds is the great cascade, 

 with its groups of statuary at each fall illustrating 

 the story of Diana and Actason. The water is 

 brought from Monte Taburno by an aqueduct 

 twenty-one miles long. The portion of the grounds 

 known as the park, the entrance to which is near 

 the upper cascade, is entirely in the landscape style. 

 It has, however, a good orangery. More attractive 

 is the casetta, a charming little moated garden house 

 on the other side of the cascade, not easy to find 

 without a guide, and therefore usually overlooked. 

 The grounds are very extensive. The palace was 

 intended as a country residence for the King of 

 Naples, and is unfinished. 



VILLA FLORIDIANA, VOMERO, NAPLES. 



BUILT at the beginning of the XlXth century for 

 the Duchess Floridiana by Ferdinand IV. Pur- 

 chased in 1 892 by Colonel Davis, who still resides 

 there. 



The house is finely situated, and its terraces 

 descend to the edge of the cliff. As it is lived in 

 during the summer, much growth of vegetation is 

 encouraged, so that the garden can hardly be called 



