Fair Verona

Juliet's Balcony

March 6-7, 2026

“Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,

• William Shakespeare, Romeo & Juliet, Ac1, Sc 1

For the very few in the world who are Bard nerds like me, Northern Italy is Shakespeare country.  In all of his canon, 13 plays were set in Italy and, although his descriptions were often highly accurate, there is no evidence he ever left England.  Still, it seems clear that he had no greater muse than Italy.

It is easy to understand.  London in the time of Shakespeare was a grey polluted miasma of despair for average people.  Homes were mostly timber built packed together, on narrow cold muddy streets that were full of animals and often human waste.

Italy, on the other hand, seemed another world with bright sunshine, clean air, beautiful locations, with rich interesting people.  It was the Elizabethan version of “Bridgerton”.

Here is a partial of Shakespeare’s Italian works -

The Merchant of Venice (Venice): Centers on the merchant Antonio and the usurer Shylock.

Romeo and Juliet (Verona): The famous tragedy of star-crossed lovers.

Othello (Venice/Cyprus): A tragedy of jealousy and manipulation.

The Taming of the Shrew (Padua): A comedy featuring Petruchio and Katherine.

The Two Gentlemen of Verona (Verona/Milan): A romantic comedy.

All's Well That Ends Well (Florence): A comedy that features a part of the plot in Florence.

The Tempest (Milan/Island): Mentions Prospero as the Duke of Milan.

“You see Shakespeare was basically a formula writer. Once he found something that worked he used it….over and over, and over again”  - JB Scoble

So, despite the complete and total ahistorical nature of Shakespeare’s Italian tales,  walking here is like walking the streets of the greatest stories ever told.  Verona, where we are right now, feels like a Franco Zeffirelli film set with its old buildings covered in faded frescos, narrow alleys, sun dappled courtyards, and cobblestone streets.

You want the stories to be true.  The tourist industry does as well.  So they go to great lengths to name things after the Capulets or Montegues to lure fools like me to buy tickets.

For the most part it works.  It did before when we visited another famous Shakespeare location in Denmark.  Click here

So this is Verona, Italy.  It is one of the largest cities in Northeast Italy with a population of around 200,000.  It was an hour train ride from Milan.   The exact origin of the town is a mystery (as well as the name) but it may date as far back as 500 BCE.  Its importance lies in that it was at a crossroads of several trading routes including a direct road through the Dolomite Range into Germany.

A 2,000 year old fountain that still works

With this history, fairly young by Egyptian standards, the city maintains a medieval charm.  The old town of Verona feels like walking through layers of history that are still very much alive. Surrounded by a bend of the Adige River, the historic center is a compact maze of stone streets, medieval buildings, Roman ruins, and lively piazzas filled with cafés and market stalls.

So lets go for a walk.

At the heart of the old city stands the impressive Verona Arena, a massive Roman amphitheater built nearly two thousand years ago. Today it still hosts concerts and opera performances the natural acoustics are still impressive.  It was the site of the closing ceremonies for the 2026 Winter Olympics and the opening ceremony for the Para-Olympic Games.  It used to be twice its current height and still can hold an audience of 20,000 people.

It is located here in Piazza Bra.

Today in fact it the ancient colosseum (the 3rd largest in the world) serves as the site for the opening ceremony for the 2026 Winter Para-Olympic Games.

Deeper into the old town the streets narrow and twist toward Piazza delle Erbe, one of the most vibrant spots in the city. Colorful market stalls sell fruit, souvenirs, and local products beneath tall historic buildings decorated with faded frescoes. A medieval tower, Torre dei Lamberti, rises above the square and offers sweeping views across terracotta rooftops and church spires.  The fountain here has been working for two thousand years!

Here under this arch someone placed a rib of a whale.  No one remembers who, but it was a very long time ago and used to remind Verona residents that a wider world lay beyond the city walls.

Just down from the whale rib you will find another beautiful square, the Piazza deli Signori,  surrounded by buildings that day for the Roman era o the Venetian empire.  At the center you will find a statue to the poet Dante.  He was exiled from his home in Florence but welcomed here in Verona.

Whale rib

Yeah, it was really good

If your rich, you get your tomb in the city set high on poles so everyone has to look up at you even if your dead

Just South of The Piazza Erbe market you will find a remarkable alley.  Here, in the early 1970’s, an enterprising tour guide decided this charming facade of an old house complete with an elegant balcony was none other than the home of Juliet Capulet of the famous play.  The tour guide wanted to use the ruse to lure more tourists to Verona.

It worked.  Thousands pour into this alley every week and pay to go out onto the balcony or take pictures from below.  In fact 1600 people on an annual tour from Japan come all the way to this city just to see this fake alley.  Here you will find a bronze statue of the ingenue that legend says if you rub her breast, you will have good luck.  You can see the bronze has been rubbed away as the poor girl has had to suffer years of groping from tourists.

Rick Steves writes, “The public’s interest in a fictional Romeo and Juliet - or at least Juliet - is a sign that there’s a hunger for a Juliet in the world….I try to appreciate what she means to people, and to psychoanalyze what she provides to those who travel to Verona specifically for this: the message that love will prevail.  In love, you can lose and still be a winner.  Juliet is brave, tragic, honest, outspoken, timeless , and passionate…..In a way this a pagan temple that gives people something to believe in….”

Not to be outdone, this house claims to be the home of Romeo

When the city was a Roman colony, this ancient gate was the opening to the city.  Walking beyond it leads to a cobble stone street with bits of Roman architecture everywhere.  It is mesmerizingly beautiful so much so that you almost think it is fake, like some set at Disney World.  it's not.  Below the buildings are a menagerie of shops, cafes, and gelaterias.

This is the Basilica of Santa Anastasia. This 14th century masterpiece of gothic splendor is dedicated to the Christian martyr Anastasia.  The walls are covered in beautiful paintings and frescos and a distant feature are these enigmatic crouching statues of figures holding up the bays of holy water.

This Roman bridge, Ponte Pietra,  dates to the First Century CE.  It was partially destroyed with the bombings of World War 2, but rebuilt.  It spans the Adige River, the second-longest river in Italy, originating in the Alps and flowing to the Adriatic Sea.

Ponte Pietra

As I said - the whole place feels like a Zeffirelli film.  This is what you travel to Italy to experience.

In all our travels there is nothing else like it in the world.

One more thing….

The Italian Way -

Colleen was resting at the hotel in Milan recovering from her cold.  I went out in the morning to get some breakfast.  A classic Italian breakfast is to go to a shop, order a coffee and a croissant, and stand there at the bar and eat with the other locals.

As I finished my meal I needed to go to the bathroom.  I went to the cashier and tried to ask discreetly where it was located with my very bad Italian.  She looked at me quizzically trying to understand then loudly said “Oh the toilet” and pointed to the stairwell going downstairs.

Everyone at the bar heard her and they all turned to look and a few sniggered.  I waved at the appreciative crowd and descended to do my business.

I found the small bathroom and noticed it was throughly equipped for a person in a wheelchair.  Large bars near the toilet for handholds, the seat was elevated more than normal, and the sink was extended to allow a wheel chair to get under it with extensive foot peddles to work the faucet.

I thought how nice and inclusive.  It is only right to have a bathroom fully equipped for the disabled.  After all this was the home for the Para-Olympic Games this year.

Then it occurred to me..  The toilet was located at the bottom of a narrow circular staircase from the bar floor.  There is no elevator! Despite all the effort to make the place disabled friendly, there was simply no way anyone in a wheelchair could get access to the facility.

I mentioned this to the cashier after I ascended to the first floor.

She shrugged.