Weddings are now allowed on Juliette’s balcony in VeronaMar 13, 2009
Authorities in Verona opened Juliette’s famous balcony for engagements and weddings. For Russian citizens this fit will cost €1,000, for EU citizens — € 800, and for Verona’s local folk a mere €600. Starting this Sunday, March 15th, Juliette’s balcony is available for wedding ceremony bookings. The city Council approved the “Get married in Verona” project which assumes opening some of the most distinguished halls of this ancient Italian city, including Capuletti’s Yard and the Love Balcony, immortalized by William Shakespeare.
According to Ansa, an Italian agency, “the privilege will cost a lot”. The press release for the project mentions a price of €600 for Verona locals, for Italian citizens — в €700, EU citizens — в €800, and for foreign citizens — €1,000. “High prices for non-Veronians should not be considered as a kind of ethnic discrimination, instead they try to highlight that the city authorities will be forced into considerable spending” — explained Flavio Tosi, the mayor of Verona. Capitalizing on Shakespeare’s fame Verona plans to become “the wedding capital” of the world, at par with Las Vegas, explained Daniel Polato, the initiator of the project. For this purpose Italian authorities encourage tour operators offering special wedding tours.
Until recently Italians and tourists were offered to conduct their wedding ceremonies near Juliette’s tomb. At the beginning of 2009 the price of a week-long wedding tour to Verona for Russian citizens generally amounted to €4 thousand.
The legendary house of Juliette, the familial mansion of the Capuletti, is located on Capello Street. The street got its name from the coat of arms of the Capuletti family which featured the image of a hat (“capello” in Italian). According to archive documents, in 1667 the Capuletti sold a part of the mansion and many owners switched rights since that time. When Charles Dickens was visiting Verona in 1844-1846 he saw a hotel and a restaurant instead of Juliette’s mansion. In 1907 the house was reconstructed and put up for auction. It was purchased by the city to create a museum in honor of the legendary woman from Shakespeare’s play. However, the restoration did not commence until the late ‘30s. The modern balcony of Love dates around the same period. The balcony opened for the public in 1997. The real location of the Capuletti balcony shall remain a mystery.
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