True love never did run smooth, but walk the marble streets of Verona and follow a path of true love, the most beautiful, and tragic, love story of all time: Romeo and Juliet.

The star-crossed lovers inspire tourists all over the world to follow in their footsteps, and Verona is one of the most visited cities in Italy, securing its fair share of the 52 million visitors that visit the country every year.

Casa di Giulietta, Juliet’s house, is one of Verona’s main attractions and is where the most famous balcony in the world may be found. Stallo del Cappello is a centuries-old tower house that, according to tradition, was home to the family of Shakespeare’s young Capulet heroine, and is visited annually by more than a million people.verona

Visitors who enter the picturesque courtyard will be staggered by thousands of scraps of paper that fill the area, left by people who have followed an old belief that leaving their own love story here guarantees them eternal love. Inside, the beautiful Gothic house delights visitors, not just its beautiful 14th century architecture, but the exhibits from the time of the Montagues and Capulets, that provide a good impression of life in ancient Verona.

Surprisingly small, the courtyard and house have been damaged over the years, and clever restoration has incorporated medieval styles. An original statue of Juliet by Veronese sculptor Nereo Costantini was placed in the courtyard in 1072, but a passage of visitors caressing her right breast for good fortune meant a new copy was cast in 2014: the original is now preserved inside the house.verona

So wherefore art thou Romeo? Romeo’s home was located in Via Arche and is grandiose as befits a wealthy and powerful Veronese family. The house, which looks like a castle, is arranged on three sides of a closed courtyard and its entrance is in a high defensive wall. Romeo’s house wqas built as a stronghold during a time of unrest between feudal factions who were each others’ sworn mortal enemies.

Legend states that the bodies of Romeo and Juliet were placed in a sarcophagus in the complex of San Francesco al Corso. In a small, dark vaulted crypt under the former monastery, among thveronae tomb stones of monks buried centuries ago, is a simple sarcophagus made of red Verona marble. The monastery has been converted into a museum, and in a beautifully decorated hall, civil unions are celebrated. Known as Juliet’s Love Promise, these civil unions are made in the place where Romeo and Juliet swore their eternal love, and are legally recognised the world over.

While the enchanting atmosphere of Verona is all pervading, there is no more romantic place to stay than Il Sogno di Giulietta. With 16 luxury rooms, some of which face Romeo and Juliet’s courtyard, guests here have private access to the courtyard at night, when it’s closed to the public.

“Seek happy nights to happy days.” Rediscover love in fair Verona.

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