TK

TK in Verona, Italy

Casa di Giulietta (Juliet’s House) [STST]
There is no proof that a Capuleti (Capulet) family ever lived here (or if they did, that a young girl called Juliet ever existed), and it wasn’t until 1905 that the city bought what was an abandoned, overgrown garden and decided its future. Rumor is, this was once actually a whorehouse.
So powerful is the legend of Juliet that over half a million tourists flock here every year to visit the simple courtyard and home that are considerably less affluent-looking than the sumptuous Franco Zefferelli version as you may remember it (the movie was filmed in Tuscany). Many are those who leave behind layer upon layer of graffiti along the lines of “Laura, ti amo!,” or who engage in the peculiar tradition (whose origin no one can seem to explain) of rubbing the right breast (now buffed to a bright gold) of the 20th-century bronze statue of a forever nubile Juliet.
The curious might want to fork over the entrance fee to see the spartan interior of the 13th-century home, restored in 1996. Ceramics and furniture on display are authentic of the era but did not belong to Juliet’s family—if there ever was a Juliet at all.
Stop by just before closing time, when the courtyard is relatively empty of tourists and it is easiest to imagine Romeo uttering, “But Soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun!” No one is willing to confirm (or deny) that the balcony was added to the palazzo as recently as 1928 (doesn't stop many a young tourist lass from posing on it, staring dreamily at the sky).

Via Cappello 23 (southeast of Piazza delle Erbe). tel. 045-803-4303. Admission (to building only; courtyard is free) 3.10€ ($3.55), 2.10€ ($2.40) children. Tues–Sun 8:30 am–7:30pm, Mon 1:30–7:30pm. (Last admission 45 minutes before close.)

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