OR Romeo, Romeo! Why are you Romeo? Deny your father; and he refuses your name: or, if you won’t, bind only an oath to my love, and I’ll be no more a Capulet. It is only your name that is my enemy: you would be yourself even if you weren’t a Montague.
It is 1597 when Shakespeare publishes the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, the story of love, death and passion that sets the two engaged against the background of the struggles between Montecchi and Capulets at the time of the Scaligeri. The story, for the experts, really took inspiration from a true story. It derives from a novel by the Vicenza writer Luigi Da Porto of 1531. But, beyond the reconstructions, the myth of the couple’s total and all-encompassing love continues to fascinate lovers from all over the world.
I’m almost three million tourists every year visit the famous Juliet’s balcony in Verona. An obligatory stop, in the heart of the city, when entering the city of Verona. A stage that excites and where incredible declarations of love, promises of marriage and even actual weddings are made almost every day. Starting with the letters that are sent to the famous girl.
Juliet’s balcony in Verona seen from the courtyard
Juliet’s balcony recipient of love letters
The letters all start like this: dear Juliet, Verona. For over thirty years Juliet has been celebrated with a literary competition supported by the Juliet club and sponsored by the Department of Culture of the Municipality of Verona. There are thousands of letters that each arrive to speak of love and listen to the stories of passion, the doubts, the hopes, the missed opportunities, the finished or just begun loves.
Thus there is Anna who wants to love moderately and Riccardo who would build a hut in the mountains where he can wait for his beloved at every secret meeting, and then Erica who invents surreal comedies to win over a girl who is already engaged and Sara who has found and lost her great love.
In the letters to Juliet there are stories that make you smile and others that hurt, because love is the most beautiful and painful, mysterious and universal feeling that unites human beings in every corner of the planet. An answer also arrives on time for every letter. A team of volunteers, known as Juliet’s Secretaries, respond to every letter.
«There are so many stories collected in our archives that every year we choose a handful from the thousands, beautiful letters that become the symbolic occasion to celebrate this extraordinary epistolary phenomenon» says Giovanna Tamassia president of the Juliet Club of Verona who presented the prize last February 11th.
A night in Juliet’s bed
The location of the story of the two unfortunate lovers of rival families – the Montagues and the Capulets – was identified precisely in the tower-house of medieval origin which overlooks Via Cappello at least from the beginning of the 19th century. Juliet’s balcony, owned by the municipality, was restored for the first time in 1938-1940. The medieval-style layout dating back to that period is still substantially preserved.
This year Airbnb has given the opportunity to a couple to stay in Juliet’s house and even sleep in the bed built by Renzo Mongiardino and used in the scenography of the film ‘Romeo and Juliet’ by Franco Zeffirelli. This is a unique event granted for the first time since the 1930s.
The two lucky ones today will not only be able to sleep in the very famous Casa, but they will be able to taste a menu by the starred chef Giancarlo Perbellini and read some of the love letters intended for Giulietta.
Will you marry me? Statements on Juliet’s balcony
View from the relais Juliet’s balcony in Verona
But I wait for it even more romantic than the whole legend are the constant declarations of love on Juliet’s balcony. “Not a week goes by that someone doesn’t come out. Kneel down and offer your partner a ring» reveals Michael Cortelletti, creator of Food Democracy in Verona, a food and hospitality network (in his Olivo 1939 in piazza Bra he discovered a futuristic room now open to the city) and creator of the relay Juliet’s balcony overlooking right in the courtyard. “It all happens in an instant. One of the two reveals himself and takes out the precious casket. “Will you marry me?”. Between surprise and dream we always hear a “yes” full of emotion. And, therefore, the applause of all the unsuspecting visitors present at that moment starts».
Aperitif in Juliet’s courtyard
The energy of Juliet’s balcony is very high. Because of this many couples decide to spend the night before the seal that will bind them forever. «They call us from all over the world to book a room and then make the proposal to their partner» continues Cortelletti. «We have witnessed numerous weddings. Many are celebrated here. We are moved in a certain sense too. Love is something so universal that one cannot remain indifferent to the joy of others”.
The relay, which won the Hotel Design Awards 2022, often organizes the event with champagne and finger food to make it even more dreamy. «In the evening, when the doors of Juliet’s courtyard close to visitors, our guests are the only ones able to enjoy the beauty of the courtyard in peace and stop for a private aperitif, welcomed like family» says Persio Munoz, manager and general manager of the structure which includes a total of sixteen rooms and suites with seventeenth-century frescoes.
Juliet’s balcony in Verona
In the footsteps of Romeo and Juliet
Meanwhile, those who want to know more about the myth can retrace its steps in the sixth meeting of the cycle of conferences organized by the Civic Museums. The appointment is for 14 February, at 5.30 pm in the Gran Guardia. Guests Fausta Piccoli, curator and manager of the libraries and archives of the Civic Museums of Verona. The conference fits into the initiatives of Verona in Love, scheduled for Valentine’s Day.
A scene from Romeo + Juliet with Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes (Photo by 20th Century-Fox/Getty Images)
The itinerary also includes a visit to Juliet’s tomb. She was identified in the second half of the sixteenth century, before William Shakespeare’s tragedy was staged in London. The first “tourist” visits date back to the beginning of the eighteenth century.
At the beginning of the 19th century, Juliet’s places become a real one tour with travel stories of writers, poets, intellectuals from all over Europe. All information on the Civic Museums website.
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