Verona Is For Lovers

I saw a popular movie this summer that takes place in Verona and since I saw that movie, I really wanted to go. It sounds really shallow when I say it like that, but the back story of the movie is a lot more intriguing than just another romantic comedy (boy meets girl, they fall in love, something happens to dramatically tear them apart, they get back together when the credits roll). Verona is the setting for one of the best (in my personal opinion) and well-known love stories ever written. Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is set in this picturesque town, dragging lovers and singletons to its city gates. My original plans with my program was to go hiking in a coastal town, but on the account of rain all weekend, we went to the city of built on love.

We woke up early, climbed on to a bus, and slept until we pulled up to our hotel in Verona (will probably never see the Tuscan countryside on a bus). A quick unpacking and freshening up were followed by a guided walking tour. We saw the Arena, the old Roman amphitheater (it looks like the Coliseum) and the city hall. We walked in the main shopping center and saw a cool water fountain. Then we turned and there it was, the entrance to Casa de Juliet, or Juliet’s House. The walls in the covered entrance are covered in graffiti in every language imaginable – there are names, hearts, dates, and drawings, all a tribute to the fated lovers who apparently met each other in this fated area. As you enter a small courtyard, you see the balcony of Juliet’s house. It is modest balcony, about five feet wide and four feet deep, but just staring at it, you can hear Shakespeare’s lines echoing in your head.

The Balcony!

In the courtyard, there is a statue of Juliet (what someone thought she looked like). It is the only true link between the modern world and the girl who knew and lost love. Apparently her tomb is somewhere in Verona but I never found out where it actually is.

After the photo-op in Juliet’s house, we toured the rest of Verona. We saw where the market used to be and a whale bone suspended from an arch – it was brought to Verona from Asia and it marked where the Asian spice seller was (very clever way to get business). We saw where they started excavating an old Roman house and where the Scala family was buried (they were the ruling family of Verona). Since Verona has a history of floods and earthquakes (everything in the city was destroyed at one point or another by a flood, an earthquake, or both), the Scala family decided to build tombs outside their private chapel. Sounds good, but what makes it strange is that the tombs are elevated on stilts (albeit fancy carved stilts) twenty feet in the air. Very interesting way to be buried.

The best part of our tour of Verona was when we went up to this church on a hill outside of Verona. We could see the whole city. I was amazed. My roommate found these stairs leading to a better view and it was through a prayer garden (to make ourselves feel better, we said a little prayer, “Dear God, thank you for giving us the opportunity to be in Italy. Please let us take pictures here. Amen.”). It was here that I wished for teleportation. I felt so small in comparison to what I saw. Verona looks like a little toy model, surrounded by a river and flanked with tree-covered mountains. It was so beautiful, I wanted to cry. It was perfect – it stopped raining, there was a little bit of a chilly breeze (I love the cold), and I had clear views of everything. It was perfect, absolutely perfect.

Me!

My friends and I went sightseeing at night and had to cut it short because of torrential rain. Verona, just like Florence, is so amazing at night. After drying off, we went to bed, ready to wake up and go sightseeing. When we awoke, we were granted a perfectly sunny day. Before we left for some more sightseeing, I wrote a letter. A part of that popular movie I mentioned, was that the heartbroken write letters to Juliet, asking for love advice. I, of course, could not have come to Verona and not write a letter. In the movie, girls are hysterically crying, writing and leaving their notes to Juliet – I understand that it is very emotional to write to someone about what is in your heart. As I readied my paper and wrote “Dear Juliet”, I found that what I wanted to write to Juliet was really clear. I jotted down my note and signed it, folding it carefully and tucking it into my bag for safe keeping.

We (my friends and I) went back to Juliet’s house. It was early yet and the square was nice and quiet. I walked into a shop and headed upstairs to “Club Juliet”, where her secretaries collect the letters and write the appropriate responses. As I rounded the upstairs landing, tucked into a corner a room was shadowed with red velvet curtains. I stepped in and I had the weirdest sensation. I felt very at peace – I felt no stress, no emotion other than calm. It really creeped me out, this instantaneous feeling of calmness. I tucked my letter into the mailbox and looked around. They have a Juliet costume in the corner and the walls are covered with letters. The languages amazed me – English, Italian, Spanish, German, Finnish, Swedish, you name it, and it was there. It is the perfect space where a modern Juliet could share heartbreak with those who write to her – it is perfectly calm and quiet, the air is filled with compassion, tissues are abundant, pens appear endlessly, and the fragrance is parchment and ink. Quietly as I came, I slipped out of the room and into the bustling Verona sidewalk.

The last part of tradition we needed to participate in is writing on the wall of the covered entryway. Most of my friends have significant others, so they put their names, entwined in a heart, on the wall. I wrote on the wall as well. What did I write? You need to go to Verona to find out.

All the writing on the wall...

After these adventures, we had some lunch (pasta with pesto, yum!), boarded the bus, and headed back to Florence. I slept and woke up as we pulled into the bus station. It was a perfect weekend, filled with love, famous quotes, and friends.

May you find you find love, whether it be through a significant lover, a friend, a child, a sibling. Romeo and Juliet would have wanted it that way.

Ciao!