The Belvedere of San Leucio, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the embodiment of Ferdinand IV of Bourbon's enlightened dream of Ferdinandopoli, a symmetrical and charming utopian city to be built at the foot of the Belvedere. While the project was never realized with the arrival of the French in 1799, the same was true of the sovereign's plan to see a silk factory flourish in San Leucio, envisioned and built directly adjacent to the royal residence. The guide to the Belvedere of San Leucio follows in the footsteps of the knight Antonio Sancio, administrator of the Royal Sites of Caserta and San Leucio, who in the 1820s, with the compilation of the Platee, undertook a historical and documentary organization of the Royal House's assets. Ancient documents, interesting information from J. Wolfgang Goethe's biography of the court painter J. Philipp Hackert, and excerpts from the correspondence between Ferdinand and Maria Carolina provide an original journey back in time, allowing us to see the site not only as it appears today, but also as it must have looked during its peak of functionality and splendor.
ENGLISH LANGUAGE