Juliet's House

Juliet's house belonged to the Dal Cappello family (a prototype of the Capulet family), their coat of arms in the shape of a marble hat is located on the arch leading to the courtyard. In 1667, the house, along with the tower that was not preserved, was sold by one of the representatives of the Cappello clan and then changed owners several times. In the XIX century there was an inn . In this state, Charles Dickens described him:

... from the Market Square, I headed to the house of Capulet, who had undergone the greatest humiliation and now turned into a miserable hotel. Noisy vetturino and scrap carts crowded in the courtyard, where there was impassable dirt and a brood of geese splattered by it ... The orchard passed into the hands of other owners and had long been separated from everything else, but before it was at home, or could have been, above the gate that lead to the courtyard from the street, the image of a hat (capello) - an ancient coat of arms of this family, carved in stone, is still preserved. Admittedly, geese, dreg carts, their carts and dogs were somewhat in the way: it would have been much nicer to find the house completely empty and to be able to walk through its non-residential rooms. But the hat nevertheless brought untold consolation, and the place where the garden was supposed to be was hardly smaller.

- Charles Dickens. "Essays on Italy" ( 1846 )

The house is completely dilapidated and was put up for auction by the owners in 1907 . It was acquired by the municipality to set up a museum dedicated to the Shakespearean play in it, but for a long time the house continued to be desolate.

Active restoration work to give the house an appropriate legendary romantic look began after the release in 1936 of George Cukor's film Romeo and Juliet , which aroused great interest in him. The brick facade was decorated with decorative elements ( Gothic outlines of the entrance arch, three-petal frames of the windows of the second floor, borrowed from other buildings) and supplemented with “Juliet's Balcony” (to create its front wall an authentic carved plate of the 14th century , possibly part of an ancient sarcophagus, was used ). A partial reconstruction of a number of buildings overlooking the courtyard of the house was made. The courtyard itself was also rebuilt. He was given some features of the corresponding scene from the movie of Kukor: battlement, column under the balcony. A board with the lines of Shakespearean tragedy was placed on the wall of the house under the balcony. In 1972, a bronze statue of Juliet by Verona sculptor Nereo Costantini was installed in the courtyard.

The work was carried out in several stages: in the 1930s, 70s and 90s. At the final stage, the atmosphere of the Trecento era was recreated in the house: the artistic ornaments of the ceilings and walls were made according to the models of the XIV century , the original frescoes of that period, transferred from the destroyed buildings, etc. were placed on the walls. In 1997, the museum was opened to visitors. The museum exhibits a number of paintings dedicated to Romeo and Juliet, photographs of scenes from the movie of Cucor. On one of the floors in 2002, an exhibition of objects from the Zeffirelli film “ Romeo and Juliet ” ( 1968 ) was placed: two costumes, a wedding bed and seven sketches for the film, made by the director.

Being on the second floor of the house, you can get to the balcony and see the courtyard from above. The room preceding the exit to the balcony was created based on the famous painting by Francesco Aiec “Farewell to Romeo and Juliet” (“ Kiss ”), written in 1859. A floor above is a spacious hall with a fireplace, which flaunts the "Capulet coat of arms" in the shape of a hat ^[1] .

Especially popular with tourists is the bronze statue of Juliet, which is considered a good sign to touch. On April 23, 1964, in connection with the celebration of the four hundredth anniversary of the birth of Shakespeare, the Verona newspaper L 'Arena decided to remind the townspeople of the promise that Signor Montague made to Juliet's father in the final of the Shakespeare play - “I will erect a statue in honor of your daughter ...” . This appeal was received by one of the founders of Lions Club Ost, Earl of Morando. The sculptor Nereo Costantini offered his work for free, and the costs of casting the statue paid for the Lions Club. Despite the fact that in 1968 the statue was already ready, the Verona commune showed no interest in installing it in front of Juliet's house, and the sculpture was stored for several years in the apartment hall of Marshal Radetzky in the Forti Palace. On April 8, 1972, thanks to the diligence of the Juliet Club, the sculpture took its permanent place in the courtyard of the Shakespearean heroine’s house ^[2] . Soon, fans noticed that by rubbing the right chest of the statue, you can get happiness in love. Due to frequent touches by 2014, the statue was worn out, a crack appeared on the “happy” right chest and a fracture on the right hand. As a result, the city authorities decided to remove the statue that became the symbol of Verona to the museum, and put a copy paid for by the city in the courtyard of Juliet's house. ^[3]

Tourists also leave notes and declarations of love on the walls of the house facing the courtyard. In 2005, all of them were removed, and for their writing they left the inner walls of the arch leading to the courtyard from the street, the special coating of which is periodically updated. In November 2012, the Verona City Council banned posting notes, imposing a fine of 500 euros for sticking notes or leaving graffiti ^[4] .

For fans of Shakespeare's heroes, mailboxes are installed in the house, as well as computers on which anyone can write a letter to them. Messages are sent to the volunteers of the Club of Juliet ( Italian: Club di Giulietta ). Every year, on September 16, the Museum’s birthday is celebrated as part of the medieval city festival, and on Valentine's Day, authors of the most moving messages to the Shakespearean heroine are welcomed in one of its halls, which is also provided for by the city’s cultural department ^[5] .

• Tomb of Juliet
• House Romeo

• Renzo Chiareli. Verona - Florence: Bonechi Edizioni, 2006 .-- S. 28-30. - ISBN 88-7204-523-1 .

•   Wikimedia Commons has media related to Juliet's House
• House, Juliet's Balcony. Tomb. House of Romeo. Verona