On Epiphany Day, the Royal Palace of Caserta returns one of its most evocative places to the Royal Park: the Peschiera Grande, in the heart of the Old Woods. After years marked by a complex and lengthy dispute with the first-ranked company in the bidding process, which had a major impact on the timing and manner in which the intervention was carried out, the Peschiera grande is now accessible again thanks to a shared and unbroken will. Decisive was the role of the State’s Attorney’s Office, which supported the Institute in the management of critical legal and administrative issues, allowing the litigation to be governed without interrupting the course of the work. Alongside this institutional garrison, the commitment and professionalism of the successor company (second place in the bidding process) as well as the work of the Works Management and the Institute’s decision to continue even in the most complex phases were decisive.
The restoration of the Great Fishpond was made possible thanks to Special Development and Cohesion Funds and benefited from the constant collaboration of the central services of the Ministry of Culture, in particular Service V of the General Secretariat, which monitored the progress of the intervention, helping to create the administrative and operational conditions necessary for its completion.
Constructed starting in 1762 by architect Francesco Collecini to a design by Luigi Vanvitelli, the Peschiera Grande is now restored not only as a body of water, but as an architectural and scenic route. The study of the Vanvitellian project made it possible to rethink the entire layout according to the original idea, as translated into work by Collecini, eliminating incongruous alterations and additions and recovering the geometry, resting points and quality imagined in the 18th century.
Prior to the intervention, the area was in a condition of severe deterioration, both architecturally and structurally and in terms of vegetation. The restoration therefore required acomprehensive action, capable of considering water, architecture and greenery as inseparable elements of a single project. From the restoration of the concrete parapets and trunk to the replacement of the stoneware paving with appropriate terracotta; from the rehabilitation of the access paths to the body of water to the reclamation of the undergrowth; from the restoration of the turf, completed by the irrigation system built as part of the PNRR project, to the targeted interventions on the central islet, to the insertion of four corner hedges. Each phase was conducted with respect for the historical identity of the site.
This was a multifaceted intervention, bringing together historical expertise, restoration techniques of different materials, operational skills, planned maintenance of the greenery, administrative commitment, and a vision oriented toward the future cultural enhancement of the area.
What is being accomplished today is a symbolic restitution. The official opening of the Great Fishpond, a moment of full public celebration of this milestone, is set for March 21, 2026.
“The Big Fishpond is, today, much more than a returned place. It is a visible sign of how difficulties can be traversed without losing direction,” says Director of the Royal Palace of Caserta Tiziana Maffei. “In these seven years many works that have been started are coming to completion, and the profound sense of this time has been to consolidate, to give structure, to leave a solid foundation for the future of the Reggia and its Park. The Great Fishpond tells a story of shared public responsibility: between the Institute, the central services of the Ministry, the State Attorney’s Office, technicians and companies. It tells that even long and complex litigation can be approached with rigor and vision, without stopping the construction site of beauty. Returning the Great Fishpond to public enjoyment on Epiphany Day means recognizing this place as a gift: to the Royal Park, to visitors and to those who believe that heritage protection also passes through the ability to hold together expertise, perseverance and the future.”
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| The Royal Palace of Caserta reopens its restored Grand Fishpond after years |
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