San Leucio, a realized utopia
- At March 22, 2013
- By Zia Lucy
- In Senza categoria
- 0
It was when his son died that Ferdinand IV of Bourbon decided to convert his small property of San Leucio into a poorhouse. Soon he realized the poor were living into a sort of “otium”, so he decided to send some of them to France: they learned how to produce silk and, once back, San Leucio was transformed into a Silk Factory.
Its fabrics were luxurious and perfectly made so they became famous all over the world: Ferdinand and his wife decided to live in San Leucio and housed their noble guests who came to buy the beautiful silk. The Factory was a sort of realized utopia: the poor’s lives became wealthy and Ferdinand realized his “Enlightenment” dream by providing them a job, houses, food and laws.
The glory of the factory lasted until the italian unification, then it was left abandoned….historical events changed lots of things, though a small part of the manifacturing art was handed down from generation to generation.
Few years ago the factory, with its machines (one was the famous loom “Jacquard“), was completely restored and opened to the public.
When I’ve visited San Leucio I felt like a princess for a few hours: I saw beautiful silk naturally coloured in blue, gold and purple…I imagined how was the life of Bourbons in the 18th century and how they were smart.
May I suggest you something, my dear reader?
If you travel to Campania do not miss few hours in San Leucio’s Factory…and if you have more time, go for a walk into the old medieval town of Caserta (Caserta vecchia)… where your dream of living in the past becomes true.
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