San Leucio is a ''

frazione A ''frazione'' (: ''frazioni'') is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' ('municipality') in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidat ...

'' of the ''

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

'' of

Caserta Caserta ( ; ) is the capital of the province of Caserta in the Campania region of Italy. An important agricultural, commercial, and industrial ''comune'' and city, Caserta is located 36 kilometres north of Naples on the edge of the Campanian p ...

, in the region of

Campania Campania is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy located in Southern Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian Peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islan ...

in southern Italy. It is most notable for a resort developed around an old silk factory, named a UNESCO

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

in 1997. It is located 3.5 km northwest of Caserta, at 145 m above sea level.

History

In 1750 Charles VII of Naples, advised by minister Bernardo Tanucci, selected this place, originally the site of a royal hunting lodge for the Acquaviva family (now restored, and known as ''Palazzo del Belvedere''), for an unusual social and technological experiment, a different model of production based on technical innovation and alert to the needs of workers. In its early days, San Leucio resort was a place for pleasure and a royal hunting preserve, built on the ruins of Saint Leucio church, where an aqueduct carried water to the waterfalls of the Royal Palace of Caserta, designed by Luigi Vanvitelli. The son of Charles, Ferdinand I, had a hunting lodge built for himself on this site. He was a very skillful hunter who disliked the pleasures and luxury of court life. It was here that Charles and the young King Ferdinand built a silk factory. The complex was transformed into a silk production site and industrial buildings were added, which was quite unique in late 18th-century

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. Architect Francesco Collecini designed these industrial buildings, where noisy looms were installed next to royal apartments and a sitting room became a chapel for the workers. A new village was built for workers' residences, and a large community of silk weavers grew into this industrial town, which in 1789 was deemed the "Real Colonia dei Setaioli" (the Silk Weavers Royal Colony). The king had planned to expand it into a true new city, called Ferdinandopoli, but the project was halted by the French invasion in 1799. In San Leucio the most advanced technologies known in Europe at the time were used throughout the process to obtain the finished products. The members of the colony had a privileged status with a modern social security system. The French invasion stopped the complete realization of Ferdinandopoli, but San Leucio resort had further growth during French rule from 1806 to 1815.

Today

The heritage of King Ferdinand still survives today in the local silk and textile firms, which works on an international scale to elite foreign clients as the

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...

, the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

, the Quirinal Palace and the Chigi Palace. San Leucio resort is home to a Living Silk Museum with some original old looms and machinery restored and displayed inside the Belvedere courtyard, showing all the phases of silk productions, from the old looms and machinery to finished products. From 1997 San Leucio resort is included in the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage List World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural heritag ...

in Europe as part of the site ''18th Century Royal Palace at Caserta with the Park, the Aqueduct of Vanvitelli and the San Leucio Complex''. From 1999 in summer months at San Leucio the Leuciana Festival is held, to promote the Belvedere of San Leucio and its park.

Bibliography

* ''The Architecture of Modern Italy: Challenge of Tradition, 1750–1900'' by Terry Kirk – ed. Princeton Architectural Press – New York – 2005 Excerpt page 39:...San Leucio... * ''The Seduction of Place: The History and Future of the City'' by Joseph Rykwert ed. Oxford University Press – 2000 Excerpt page 85: ...San Leucio... * ''Naples and Napoleon: Southern Italy and the European Revolutions, 1780–1860'' by John A. Davis ed. Oxford University Press – 2006 Excerpt page 17: ...San Leucio... * ''In the Shadow of Vesuvius: A Cultural History of Naples'' by Jordan Lancaster ed. J.B. Tauris &Co Ltd – 2005/2009 Excerpt page 144: ...San Leucio... * ''Naples in the Eighteenth Century: The Birth and Death of a Nation State'' (Cambridge Studies in Italian History and Culture) by Girolamo Imbruglia – ed. The Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge – 2000 – Excerpt page 151: ...San Leucio...

Notes

External links

Photos and history of San LeucioSan Leucio site in italian
{{authority control Frazioni of Caserta Former municipalities of Campania San Leucio resort Royal residences in the Kingdom of Naples Silk Textile museums in Italy World Heritage Sites in Italy