Casina Vanvitelliana, Bacoli

The Casina Vanvitelliana in Bacoli, Italy, is an 18th-century hunting pavilion erected under the Bourbon monarchy. Built during the Bourbon period, it formed part of a royal landscape used for hunting and fishing and became an important site for hosting prominent guests. Its location on a small islet in Lake Fusaro and its role within a royal reserve explain its historical relevance to the court and to later cultural life.

In 1752 the Bourbon king Charles of Bourbon acquired the Fusaro estate and set about turning it into a royal hunting and fishing reserve. Early work on the site was carried out under Luigi Vanvitelli, who undertook drainage and consolidation of the lake shores and put a first small pavilion on the islet to serve the royal estate.

Building continued under Ferdinand IV, and Luigi Vanvitelli’s son, Carlo Vanvitelli, completed the work that produced the present Royal Hunting Pavilion in 1782. The pavilion was sited close to the shore on its islet and designed to serve the needs of the royal household and their guests.

The Casina served as a residence for distinguished visitors across the 19th and 20th centuries. An imperial guest named Francis stayed there in May 1819 (identified as Francesco II of Habsburg-Lorraine, also known as Francis I of Austria). Composer Gioachino Rossini later visited the site, and in the mid-20th century President Luigi Einaudi used the pavilion. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart came to Lake Fusaro in 1770, but the royal pavilion had not yet been constructed, so he did not stay there.

For many years access to the islet was by boat; a long wooden footbridge was added later to link the pavilion directly to the lakeshore. In the 21st century the building continued to serve public cultural functions, hosting the Bacoli Archaeological Film Festival beginning in 2023 and opening a public library and media library called the “Libreria del Lago” in 2024.