Casa di Giulietta in Verona
Wednesday, 17 December 2025 - 11:00 am (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination: European Union / Europäische UnionCategory/Kategorie: General Reading Time: 6 minutes
© Bearas/cc-by-4.0
The building that houses Casa di Giulietta is a medieval residential tower, the existence of which is first documented in records from 1351. The tower housed the inn “del Cappello,” owned by the heirs of Antonio Cappello. This is also evidenced by the hat emblem found on the keystone of the arch facing the courtyard. It was precisely because of this hat symbol that, in the 18th and 19th centuries, when people were searching for places connected with Shakespeare’s tragedy, the building was mistakenly associated with the Capulet family (in Italian, “Cappelletti”), who (along with the Montecchi) are mentioned in Dante Alighieri‘s Purgatorio. Although the building changed hands several times over the centuries, it retained its function as an inn, later supplemented by a few craft shops.
In 1905, the city of Verona purchased the building, which was partially demolished in 1930 to make way for the construction of the Teatro Nuovo. Finally, in 1939, under the direction of Antonio Avena, the director of the city’s museums, the museum’s establishment was completed. Avena’s intervention blended newly created neo-medieval decorations for the walls and ceilings with elements from the city’s collections, such as stones, columns, fireplaces, coats of arms, and furniture dating from the 13th to 15th centuries. Two corbels of red marble were specially made for the balcony, while a medieval slab from the city’s collections was used for the balustrade. Since the slab was relatively small, two lateral extensions and end caps were crafted from white marble and Avesa stone, replicating the same arches as those in the central slab.
The popularity of the house and the balcony increased considerably in the period following World War II. During this period, the new director of the city museums, Licisco Magagnato, decided, following the renovation of Castelvecchio (which he oversaw together with the architect Carlo Scarpa), to focus on the concept of a museum housed within the city itself. The layout was reorganized, and the rooms on the five levels were augmented with a core collection of medieval works, including salvaged frescoes from the late 14th century, furniture, and other objects from the city’s collections. Finally, on June 1, 1973, the bronze statue of Juliet, a work by Nereo Costantini donated by the Lions Club of Verona, was installed in the courtyard, marking the reopening of the city museum.
The museum’s current appearance is the result of interventions directed by Antonio Avena. In particular, the courtyard façade was decorated with reused elements from the late medieval and early Renaissance periods, as well as some neo-medieval pieces inspired by 14th- and 15th-century models. The balcony consists of a 14th-century stone slab from Avesa, originally from one of the palaces of the Scaligeri, the lords of Verona. It was completed with stylistic additions and two profiled corbels. The balcony was inspired by 14th-century hanging tombs, a symbolic solution alluding to the tragic fate of Romeo and Juliet.
Inside, the main areas include the Balcony Hall, the Ballroom, and the Dormitory. The first is a newly designed room inspired by Francesco Hayez‘s famous painting The Last Kiss of Romeo and Juliet, displaying various 19th- and 20th-century works on the theme of Romeo and Juliet. The second room features wooden floors and ceilings, as well as a Renaissance-era red marble fireplace bearing a copy of the Cappello coat of arms. Finally, there is the Dormitory, accessible via a loggia, with walls decorated in a two-tone style. It contains the bed designed by architect Lorenzo Mongiardino for Franco Zeffirelli‘s film Romeo and Juliet.
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