Romeo and Juliet…the Story Behind the Legend
How could we visit Verona and not gaze up at one of the most famed balconies in literature? No way! So, on our trip from Lake Garda back to Panzano via Verona, my high school friends Rosemary and Mary and I jostled our way through the crowd to reach the end of a narrow, graffitied alleyway to Casa di Giulietta!
Visitors are unable to refrain from adding their own romance to the alleyway despite the clear prohibition!
From the small courtyard in front of the Gothic style, fourteenth century house and museum, we reminisced about our sophomore year English class with Mrs. Sullivan and her attempt to engage us in the marvel of Shakespeare.
The balcony of Casa di Giulietta said to have inspired “The Bard of Avon” and his tale of Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet, Shakepeare’s “star-crossed” lovers whose drama has been told and retold through the centuries, bring to life an historical feud that played out in the Middle Ages.
These lines from Juliet tell the tale,
“O, Romeo, Romeo, wherefore (why) art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name, Or if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, And I’ll no longer be a Capulet.
“Tis but thy name that is my enemy, Thou art myself, though not a Montague. What’s a Montague? It is nor hand, nor foot, Nor arm, nor face. O, be some other name Belonging to a man.
Unfortuately, Juliet was a Capulet, (based on an actual family -Capuleti or Cappelletti) who were Guelfs and supported the Pope (and hence the swallow tailed crenalations on the defensive wall near Juliet’s balcony, explained in the post “Friend or Foe?” ) though they were actually based in Cremona, 60 miles beyond Verona.
The Guelf Capulets warred with the Montagues (based on the Montecchi or Monticoli), a prominent Veronese Ghibelline family who supported the Holy Roman Emperor.
This centuries’ long feud was told before Shakepeare by Dante in the Divine Comedy and after Dante by an Italian writer, Luigi da Porta. It is likely that an English translation of da Porta’s story sparked Shakepeare’s dramatization in the 1500’s.
Centuries later, the love at the heart of the tale affects modern day lovers and those would be lovers who are searching for their Romeo or Juliet.
Strangers seeking good luck in love…..
Mary, Rosemary and I overlooking the Adige River in Verona on our way to visit Casa di Giulietta