La Casa di Giulietta

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Editor Pick

Juliet's House

  • August 24, 2008
  • Rated 4 of 5 by Joy S from Manchester, United Kingdom
Juliet's House

Romeo and Juliet may have been fictional, but at Juliet's house you can swoon beneath what popular myth says was her balcony, or if in need of a new lover, approach a bronze statue of Juliet and rub her right breast for good luck. This is a peculiar tradition which no-one can seem to explain.

The house is at Via Capelli, just off the Piazza delle Erbe. It is supposedly the location of the famous balcony love scene from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. The house is a major destination for tourist pilgrimage and the tiny courtyard is usually packed with people photographing each other on the famous balcony.

The house actually has no connection with Shakespeare's fictional characters. Although the house is old, the balcony was added in 1936 and it was declared to be Juliet's house to attract tourists. Local officials, determined to keep the myth alive, designated it to be the residence of the Capulets.

It costs 4 Euros to visit. The house contains a sparse collection of Renaissance frescoes rescued from other demolished palaces, as well as the original bed from Zeffirelli's 1968 movie Romeo and Juliet. There is not a lot else!

The balcony overlooks a tiny courtyard with the bronze statue of Juliet.

There is an unbelievable amount of grafitti on the walls in the alleyway leading to the courtyard and beyond. There is a tradition, apparently of writing love messages to Juliet. Some of it looked to me to be just random grafitti and it is extremely messy looking.

We went to Juliet's houe at 10:30am - it was blissfully uncrowded. There was no-one else on the balcony except us and only about half a dozen other people inside the house. The courtyard was also almost empty. I would recommend getting here earlyish to beat the hoards of tourists that descend in the afternoon.

It is a "must do" experience to stand on Juliet's balcony, but if you go to the next level of the house, there is a larger balcony which gives a lovely view of the countryside around Verona.

From journal One Night in Verona

La Casa di Giulietta

  • February 20, 2007
  • Rated 2 of 5 by ShannonBrooke from Somerville, Massachusetts
La Casa di Giulietta

Juliet's house is really a medieval-era inn, but despite its lack of authenticity, there is a romantic feeling to the small courtyard with its statue of Juliet, especially at night. Lovers for centuries have written their names on the wall here, and thousands of couples go to stand on the balcony, that may have inspired Shakespeare's words.

The main reason to pay admission is to go upstairs and pose on the balcony where Juliet supposedly once stood looking down at her Romeo. There is a small museum in the house.

This site is always crowded with tourists. At times, it feels as if every tourist from Piazza San Marco has been squeezed into this tiny courtyard, especially if you shoved into a corner after a bus tour has arrived.

From journal Northern Italy with the Famiglia!

Casa di Giulietta

  • August 14, 2004
  • Rated 4 of 5 by Tolik from Tampa, Florida
Casa di Giulietta

In the beginning of the 20th century local authorities identified the Juliet’s house with a medieval dwelling at 23, Via Cappello. The house dates back to the 13th century and has a brick façade with large windows. Yes, this building once was owned by the Dal Cappello, or Capulet, family. It does not really matter that the house was an inn once known as il Cappello and horse-stall. The city of Verona acquired it in 1905 and restored the building. In 1935 Hollywood’s movie Romeo and Juliet made its way to the movie theatres; local authorities immediately added the famous balcony and opened Casa di Giulietta to the public. Now this is an obvious tourist trap but nevertheless worth visit… Dozens of people stay in the line to approach a bronze statue of Juliet and rub her breast (for good luck in love I guess). Other visitors add countless graffiti and glue the love notes on the walls of the house – you will be impressed by the great amount of love confessions. FYI - - there is a nice souvenir store in the courtyard. And just a couple of steps down the street, you can find another little shop called “Romeo e Giulietta” selling R+J souvenirs…

From journal Delightful Verona

Casa di Giulietta

  • May 17, 2004
  • Rated 2 of 5 by KarenAndKevin from Berkhamsted, United Kingdom
Casa di Giulietta

A visit to Verona wouldn't be complete without setting eyes on "Juliet's balcony", and judging by the hoards of people flocking to Casa di Giulietta, everyone else thought so to. It was however, one of my least favourite parts of the trip. Verona has so much more to offer than this – but having travelled all the way to Verona,you can't skip the balcony, can you?

Visiting the courtyard at 27 Via Capello is free, but packed with tourists (getting there early is apparently wise). If you concentrate very hard and try to remove the noise, graffiti, camera flashes, gift shop and general hype, you can see a small romantic courtyard with balcony and vine-covered walls. There are, however, plenty of other sites in Verona where the romantic air comes without so much concentration!

The courtyard also contains a much-touched bronze statue of Juliet and a gift shop selling all the Romeo and Juliet merchandise you can imagine. For a fee, you can enter the "Capulet" or Cappelli house and look around the small museum. There are better museums elsewhere in the town.

From journal Inter-railing -- Verona

Editor Pick

Casa di Giulietta

  • April 2, 2002
  • Rated 2 of 5 by gosusan from San Francisco, California
Casa di Giulietta

Well, I suppose that one cannot visit Verona and miss Juliet's House and Balcony. It is only a few minutes from Piazza dell'Erbe, and is best visited early in the morning, before swamped with tour groups.

Follow the signs (or the masses of Let's Go backpacking teenyboopers) to the small courtyard at 27 Via Capello. There you will see a bronze statue of Juilet and the balcony supposedly immortalized by Shakespeare. On the rare times when it is empty, the courtyard has a romantic air, with leafy vines overgrowing the attractive graffiti-bedecked walls.

Visiting the courtyard is free, but there is an entrance fee to the building, which has a mediocre museum. (Fret not, you will be able to buy cheaper Romeo-and-Juliet kitsch in other souvenir shops around town.)

La Casa di Giulietta was an inn owned by the Capuletti family. It has been given its official title because Verona began to take advantage of tourism in the 19th century. Just like many places now offer "movie-set tours" for the masses, the city further capitalized on the story by arbitrarily placing Juliet's tomb (Tomba di Giulietta) in the crypt of San Francesco al Corso. Romeo's house is supposedly on the Via della Arche Scaligeri. I wouldn't be surprised if some unscrupulous hotel has a "Shakespeare slept here" plaque, though The Bard had never visited Italy and relied on the play by Luigi da Porto di Vincenza for details.

But Verona, like most Italian cities, was home to feuding merchant families and romantic youngsters, so who's to say that no tragic meeting of star-crossed lovers occurred here?

From journal Verona: La Citta d'Amore

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