Avenue of the Bourbons

The Vanvitelli Aqueduct, completed in 1762 near Valle di Maddaloni in Campania, is one of the most ambitious hydraulic engineering projects of 18th-century Europe. Designed by architect Luigi Vanvitelli on commission from Bourbon king Charles III, it was built to channel water from the Apennine mountains to the Royal Palace of Caserta and its elaborate gardens. The structure's sweeping arcade spans kilometers of Campanian countryside, its neoclassical arches echoing Roman engineering on a Bourbon scale. Open around the clock, it rewards visitors with long perspectives across the arched spans set against the rolling hills of the Valle di Maddaloni.