I admit, the only reason I’ve heard of Verona is from that movie, Letters to Juliet, which to be honest, was a pretty horrible movie. However, the movie did capture Verona beautifully, and I loved the scenes from the movie of the Romeo and Juliet courtyard with Juliet’s balcony and the wall where people could leave their love letters to Juliet (and apparently “Juliet’s secretaries” do write back!).
If you’re a Shakespeare fan, Verona is a must see in Italy since its where three of his plays were set – the ever so famous Romeo and Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew and The Two Gentlemen of Verona. No wonder Verona is quite an attractive destination for couples!
Ironically, I’m not a Shakespeare fan even though I did my undergrad in English literature (I’ll admit, I do like Macbeth though). Actually, it was more of the fact that I couldn’t be bothered to read his plays in the old English language – so many thanks to the writers behind “Shakespeare Made Easy” for my good grades on my Shakespeare essays!
Aside from the balcony, in Juliet’s courtyard there’s also a statue of her. You’ll notice that her left breast is a lighter colour…that’s because of all the people rubbing it…which is suppose to bring you good luck in love. The line for it was huge so I was lucky enough to get a shot of the statue without someone in the way.
(I did not partake in the rubbing because in the past, I’ve rubbed various animal statue genitila many a time, and sadly I’m still not any richer or luckier in whatever I was promised)
Here is the wall with the love letter! (interesting fact: a lot of the letters were romantically stuck on the wall with chewed gum)
In another part of the city, there’s also the tomb of Juliet, which I didn’t know existed. I didn’t go inside to view it since there’s an entrance fee and I’m not sure what exactly you would find in a tomb of a fictional character…
Again, if you’re a Shakespeare fan this city is for you…
Even the Mcdonalds is Romeo and Juliet themed…
Aside from the Shakespeare related attractions, the city itself is really pretty! I think it has one of the nicest city centres I’ve been to. Everything felt so posh and classy, it almost felt a bit like Venice, without the canals and all the tourists.
Although Milan is the fashion capital of Italy, I thought Verona was a worthy competitor. Everyone was so well dressed, and all the shop windows had the most amazing window displays that I couldn’t help but do some window shopping (ok and a bit of real shopping) along the way.
One of my best finds? This Moschino diet coke can! How cool is that?
Have you guys been to Verona? What are some of your favourite things about the city?