Casa di Giulietta

The Casa di Giulietta, or Juliet's House, stands at Via Cappello 23 in the historic centre of Verona, in the Veneto region of Italy, a few steps from Piazza delle Erbe. The building is a medieval house of the thirteenth century, associated by tradition with the Dal Cappello family, whose name resembles that of Shakespeare's Capulets. There is no historical evidence that a real Juliet lived here, but the link grew after the sixteenth-century story of Romeo and Juliet spread across Europe, and the house became a place of pilgrimage for admirers of the tragedy. In the 1930s the building was restored by the city, and the famous balcony was added during that work using older fragments of a sarcophagus. The bronze statue of Juliet in the courtyard dates from 1969 and is the work of the sculptor Nereo Costantini. The courtyard walls are covered with messages, notes and graffiti left by visitors. Inside, the house is organised as a small museum, with rooms furnished in a period style and displaying frescoes, ceramics, furniture and costumes, including items linked to film adaptations. The curatorial approach is thematic and atmospheric rather than strictly chronological, combining medieval architecture with the cultural legacy of the legend. The structure is in good condition after the twentieth-century restoration, though the courtyard is heavily used and requires regular upkeep. Access to the interior is by timed reservation, while the courtyard can be entered at a lower ticket price. The house is run by the civic museums of Verona, and the site is one of the most visited in the city, so queues are frequent. Visitors interested in the history rather than the legend can read it as an example of a medieval Veronese townhouse and as a case study of how literature shapes heritage.