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via Cappello 23 (near Piazza delle Erbe), ☏ +39 045 8034303. Mon
13:30-19:30, Tue-Sun 08:30-19:30
Juliet's House is a medieval palace
in Verona, located on Via Capello, near the central square of Piazza
delle Erbe.
The tragedy of Romeo and Juliet found confirmation in
Verona, because fantasy mixes legend and reality so much that different
places were recognized where the story told by Shakespeare could have
taken place.
The families named Montecchi and Cappelletti (subsequently
transformed into the Capulets) really existed: we know about the stay of
the Cappelletti up to the years of Dante's stay in Verona, in the house
of Juliet, located near Piazza Erbe, where their presence is evidenced
by the coat of arms of the cap on the keystone of the entrance arches in
the courtyard of the house.
The Montagues, important Ghibelline
merchants from Verona, were indeed involved in a bloody struggle for
control of power in Verona, in particular with the Sambonifacio Guelph
family, but there is no news of a rivalry with the Cappelletti.
Montecchi and Cappelletti are also mentioned by Dante in the Divine
Comedy (Purgatory, VI vols. 105-107).
Juliet's house became a
hospital in Capello in the 14th century, and the new Capello family who
lived there (and who probably took their name from the place where they
lived) apparently practiced the profession of speciari (i.e.,
pharmacists) as early as the end . 15th century.
From the 17th to
the 19th centuries it became a hotel kiosk (of poor quality, judging by
the quotation Dickens seems to have made of it). Only the entrance tower
dates from the 13th century, although it has undergone countless
transformations, including other buildings overlooking the courtyard.
The exterior of the house and adjoining building, created to house
the foyer of the Teatro Nuovo, was modeled between 1937 and 1940 (under
the direction of Antonio Avena) through a series of imaginative
restorations to recreate antique Renaissance stage design. inspired by
the 1936 American film, in turn inspired by Hayes' famous nineteenth
century painting, The Kiss.
Even the balcony (previously there
was the railing of the municipal house) is the result of the assembly of
fourteenth-century marble remnants, which, as early as 1920, lay in the
Castelvecchio Museum as stones to be reused, according to the
architectural fashion of the time.
Tourist aspect of Juliet's
house
This place is one of the main attractions for tourists visiting
Verona. This attention often makes the courtyard of the house very
crowded, which also has souvenir shops for tourists. The passage leading
to the courtyard is completely covered in graffiti and love-themed
tickets left behind by many visitors.
Since the summer of 2015,
some of the main parts of the traveling performance of "Romeo and
Juliet" organized by the Teatro Nuovo in Verona have taken place here:
the famous dance and balcony scenes are played here.
In the
autumn of 2019, important and painstaking work was carried out to clean
the arch and walls leading to the courtyard of Juliet's house. All
tickets, chewing gum, plasters, inscriptions that covered the walls have
been removed. The walls are whitewashed and supplemented with
inscriptions in different languages. The notice informs visitors that
damaging the walls is prohibited and that violators will be punished
with a fine of 3,000 euros or a year in prison. In addition, after
applying the anti-covid rules, you can no longer touch the statue of
Juliet.