entry Sept
2013
Torcino
This painting is by Phillip J.
Hackert and shows the Torcino
Royal Bridge(built by Charles III) on the premises of the
Royal Hunting Ground. The painting is dated 1786.
Royal Bridge(built by Charles III) on the premises of the
Royal Hunting Ground. The painting is dated 1786.
Some
sources reference this site by the name of a
nearby town, Capriati a Volturno, but the
full name was the Real Tenuta di caccia e
pesca di Torcino a Ciorlano [the Torcino
a Ciorlano Royal Grounds for Hunting and
Fishing]. It is in the hills above the Volturno
valley about 70 km north of Naples and about 45 km
northwest of Caserta, a very short distance SE of
the town of Venafro. (Don't worry, you will get
lost. No, wait. Worry.) Part of this former royal
hunting reserve is today a well-maintained estate
functioning primarily as an agriturismo —that is,
a rural guest house. It is of considerable natural
beauty, including its so-called “Swan Lake.”
Today, if you want to visit it, find the town of
Venafro and then ask for the Torcino Estate or, in
Italian, the Tenuta Torcino. The estate covers 375
hectares (925 acres). The holding was one of the
22 Royal Bourbon sites (graphic, below); that is,
personal property of the king. The
complete list of Royal Bourbon sites
Samnite
and then Roman history with items of archaeological
interest from both of those civilizations found at
various sites. Most of the area passed through the
middle ages in the hands of a succession of feudal
lords. The Torcino Royal Hunting Ground was set up by Charles III of Bourbon in
1738. His son, Ferdinand IV, then expanded the property
considerably. He and his guests then stayed at what is
still called the Royal Palace of Venafro, a
residence fit enough for a king to be purchased from the
Coppa family by Ferdinand in 1771 as his residence and
hunting lodge. (The building and purchase are mentioned
in Salvatore Palermo Notizie del Bello, dell’Antico
e del Curioso che contengono le Ville Reali, by
Salvatore Palermo, pub. Napoli 1792). That building
still stands, but barely, and should not be visited
unless restoration is undertaken. Recent photos show the
building to be completely dilapidated. The area was a
zone of martial law, fierce civil unrest and "banditry" in the 1860s
following the unification of Italy and was much later
subject to ferocious fighting and bombardments in WWII.© 2002 - 2023