Casa di Giulietta (Italian for “Juliet’s House”) is a medieval residential building located on Via Cappello in the northern Italian city of Verona. Also known as Palazzo Cappello or Palazzo Rizzardi after its previous owners, the building has been officially designated as Juliet’s House since 1940. Along with Juliet’s Tomb, Romeo’s Tomb, and Romeo’s House, it is one of Verona’s Shakespearean sites, associated with the universal and positive ideal of love, and for this reason has become a popular destination for secular pilgrimages. The building is the most visited monument in the city. Because the balcony is located in a rather inconspicuous courtyard, it is often overlooked by visitors. read more…
Mantua is a city and comune with 49,000 inhabitants, and capital of the province of the same name. In 2007, Mantua’s centro storico (old town) and Sabbioneta were declared by UNESCO to be a World Heritage Site. Mantua’s historic power and influence under the Gonzaga family has made it one of the main artistic, cultural, and especially musical hubs of Northern Italy and the country as a whole. Mantua is noted for its significant role in the history of opera; the city is also known for its architectural treasures and artifacts, elegant palaces, and the medieval and Renaissance cityscape. It is the place where the composer Monteverdi premiered his opera L’Orfeo and where Romeo was banished in Shakespeare‘s play Romeo and Juliet. It is the nearest town to the birthplace of the Roman poet Virgil, who was commemorated by a statue at the lakeside park “Piazza Virgilio”. read more…
