In Fair Verona
Casa di Giulietta in Verona.
Who doesn’t know about the love story between Juliet and Romeo? Immortalised by Shakespeare in the first line of his play, Verona holds the claim to having the houses of perhaps the greatest lovers in history. Of course, there is much debate as to whether the lovers existed or not. That hasn’t stopped hundreds of thousands of tourists from wanting to see the Casa di Giulietta, or Juliet’s House.
The dell Capello family owned the house on Via Capello for a many years. In fact, it is the similarity of their name that spurned the popular belief that this was the house of the Capulets in Shakespeare’s play. The dell Capello’s coat-of-arms can still be seen on the keystone of the inner archway in the courtyard. The house itself was built in the 13th century. A massive restoration effort to add the windows, gothic doors and the balcony was carried out in the 1930s. The late addition of the balcony is a point of contention, though.
From the courtyard you can see Juliet’s Balcony. This is supposedly the very same balcony where the tragic heroine cried out to her Romeo. These days, do not be surprised to see many a young girl standing on the balcony, probably dreaming her own dreams.
(photo shows the years of ‘love’ graffiti from visitors)
