Description
Juliet's House is a medieval tower-house on Via Cappello, a few steps from Piazza delle Erbe, in Verona, the goal of a popular secular pilgrimage for lovers. It is the most visited monument in the city.
And yet the balcony was installed in the 20th century and Juliet, if she ever existed, never lived here.
It all begins with a hat. In the tower-house there was an inn, "del Cappello", with the coat of arms of the hat on the keystone of the arch toward the courtyard. Between the 18th and 19th centuries, when people were looking for the places of Shakespeare's tragedy, the building was linked to the Capulets, the Cappelletti already mentioned by Dante.
In 1905 the city bought the house, and in 1939 the director of the civic museums, Antonio Avena, finished fitting it out as a house-museum. He mixed new neo-medieval decorations with pieces from the civic collections: stones, small columns, fireplaces, coats of arms and furnishings of the 13th-15th centuries.
The balcony is his work: a medieval slab of Avesa stone, from the 14th century, that came from a Scaliger palace. Since it was small, two side extensions were added, and below two new red marble brackets. Avena was inspired by the hanging tombs of the 14th century, to allude to the sad fate of the two lovers.
In the courtyard stands the bronze statue of Juliet, by Nereo Costantini, donated by the Lions Club and placed in 1973. All around, the inner facade is exposed brick, decorated with late medieval and early Renaissance reused elements, and with trefoil windows and a Gothic portal.
Inside, over five floors, you visit the house-museum. The Balcony Room is inspired by Hayez's famous painting, "The Last Kiss of Romeo and Juliet", and holds 19th- and 20th-century works on the theme. The Ballroom has a wooden floor and ceiling, with a Renaissance fireplace in red marble and a copy of the Cappello coat of arms.
Finally you reach the Bed Room, where the bed designed by Lorenzo Mongiardino for Franco Zeffirelli's film "Romeo and Juliet" is on display, in a room with walls painted in two colors. Detached frescoes from the late 14th century, furnishings and other medieval objects complete the visit.
Don't miss
• The balcony.
• The statue of Juliet in the courtyard.
• The Bed Room.
Did you know?
• The house has been a set for films such as "Letters to Juliet" and "Love in the Villa".
• It is also one of the venues where the city offers couples a place to hold their wedding.
And yet the balcony was installed in the 20th century and Juliet, if she ever existed, never lived here.
It all begins with a hat. In the tower-house there was an inn, "del Cappello", with the coat of arms of the hat on the keystone of the arch toward the courtyard. Between the 18th and 19th centuries, when people were looking for the places of Shakespeare's tragedy, the building was linked to the Capulets, the Cappelletti already mentioned by Dante.
In 1905 the city bought the house, and in 1939 the director of the civic museums, Antonio Avena, finished fitting it out as a house-museum. He mixed new neo-medieval decorations with pieces from the civic collections: stones, small columns, fireplaces, coats of arms and furnishings of the 13th-15th centuries.
The balcony is his work: a medieval slab of Avesa stone, from the 14th century, that came from a Scaliger palace. Since it was small, two side extensions were added, and below two new red marble brackets. Avena was inspired by the hanging tombs of the 14th century, to allude to the sad fate of the two lovers.
In the courtyard stands the bronze statue of Juliet, by Nereo Costantini, donated by the Lions Club and placed in 1973. All around, the inner facade is exposed brick, decorated with late medieval and early Renaissance reused elements, and with trefoil windows and a Gothic portal.
Inside, over five floors, you visit the house-museum. The Balcony Room is inspired by Hayez's famous painting, "The Last Kiss of Romeo and Juliet", and holds 19th- and 20th-century works on the theme. The Ballroom has a wooden floor and ceiling, with a Renaissance fireplace in red marble and a copy of the Cappello coat of arms.
Finally you reach the Bed Room, where the bed designed by Lorenzo Mongiardino for Franco Zeffirelli's film "Romeo and Juliet" is on display, in a room with walls painted in two colors. Detached frescoes from the late 14th century, furnishings and other medieval objects complete the visit.
Don't miss
• The balcony.
• The statue of Juliet in the courtyard.
• The Bed Room.
Did you know?
• The house has been a set for films such as "Letters to Juliet" and "Love in the Villa".
• It is also one of the venues where the city offers couples a place to hold their wedding.