Dear Juliet... (accompanying doc)

 

THEME (continued from page 1)

 

Do people in our modern times still believe in true love and star crossed lovers as they did in the age Shakespeare set his plays? How has love and the problems of lovers - changed across the ages, and how does it change across cultures?

The juxtaposition of the romantic myth of Romeo and Juliet and the tourist agenda that fuels modern day Verona creates an interesting analogy to the letters written to Juliet from across the world, and the replies sent from her team of volunteers.

Some would see the popularity of Romeo and Juliet in Verona as romanticism inspired by capitalism - others might see it as capitalism helping to keep alive the importance in our life of passion and romance.

The context of Romeo and Juliet was vastly different to our world today, with the contemporary realities of cyber romances, long-distance and same sex relationships, abortion and contraception and so on.

So why do heart broken lovers the world over seek Juliet's advice? Has Shakespeare's legendary tale romanticised and made more compelling the idea of forbidden love, the tragedy of heartbreak- and even youth suicide?

And in this age of global communication, does Juliet show us we have more role models to turn to, to seek answers from, or are we actually more disconnected, more in need of an anonymous ear to listen to our problems, understand, and return to us un-judgemental words of advice?


FAIR VERONA

Italians have long-held a repuation for being among the most passionate people in the world. Lovers of fine wine, fine food, and fine women, Italians have seemed to make an art form of the finer things in life - love included. The country is also famous for its lush country-side, rolling hillsides and artistic heritage in towns that have changed little since the renaissance.

When it comes to beauty, the town of Verona in north Italy is no exception. The city's 2,000 years of history makes it a worthy draw card for tourism, as one of the most beautiful and historically significant cities in Italy.

But when it comes to love, some of its townsfolk would claim that the people of Verona are more interested in making money than making love. 'We have a hard time smiling' adds Giulio Tamassia, founder of 'The Juliet Club'.

 

By Italian standards, the Veronese are far from passionate, known more as 'hard-nosed business folk'. Yet Verona's claim to fame is as the setting of the most widely-read

love story of all time.

References to Romeo and Juliet can be found throughout the town. There are hotels, motorcycle race courses, a campground, a perfume and a canned fruit company named after the young lovers. Local sweets are named 'Juliet kisses' and cakes are named in their honour.

 

A bronze statue of Juliet in the centrepiece of the courtyard was commisioned by a local bank 32 years ago and visitors are told they can rub her right breast for good luck. At least one newspaper reports it is the left. After 30 years of fondling, Juliet's right breast now has a smooth shine and her cup size has diminished from a size B to A.

The monuments to Romeo are comparatively few, and his tomb remains somehow 'undiscovered', - though he paid just as high a price for his love as Juliet. While tourists bustle to rub Juliet's breast - one wonders why Romeo is relatively forgotten.

'Touching Juliet's breast brings good luck and a happy love life', says 'Juliet' volunteer and Verona city guide Maneula Uber. 'You risk great tragedy by not giving it a quick squeeze'.

So what Shakespeare and history did not record, the Veronese have added.

Some would argue there is nothing wrong with letting people believe in myth, encouraging people to believe in love. 'Poetry has conferred an authenticity greater than any historical evidence could muster', writes Lanfranco Franzoni, a local author.

According to some literary sources, the real Juliet was born on September 16, 1284 and lived at No. 23 Via Cappelo.

Shakespeare reportedly based the work on poetry by other English and Italian writers and never even set foot in Italy, let alone Verona. Yet in the 1930s city leaders decided to create monuments of Romeo and Juliet to promote tourism. They themselves were inspired by a Hollywood crew who visited the city to study its architecture for a Romeo and Juliet film by MGM.

The ensuing craze prompted the city's museum director to restore a house that had been purchased by the city early in the century and was reputed to belong to the Capulets. Marble was then put on the famous balcony which tourists can now climb - for a fee of course.

This irony is not lost on the locals. It may even begin to explain the local's apparent disinterest in anything other than 'the business of love'.

'The spirit of Romeo and Juliet is brought here by the tourists, but the Veronese have become used to the idea and are no longer moved by it'. Local businessmen have even campaigned to have lovers' graffiti on the walls erased, calling them an eyesore. Meanwhile street hawkers have reproduced some of the artistic tourist graffiti at Juliet's House on souvenir shirts selling for as much as $20.

The tourists don't seem to mind. At the famous balcony couples come to pledge their love and renew their vows. A 400 page visitor's book is signed by lovers and lonely hearts every week in Verona.

'The life is short and I will die one day. So give me some love before I go', writes someone clearly feeling desperate. 'I have found my Juliet - she is my wife' wrote a Mexican visitor. 'Never kill yourself for a man!' writes another.

'Juliet is the symbol of true love', says Manuela as she watches a couple kiss, swap chewing gum from mouth to mouth, then stick it on the wall under Juliet's balcony. 'The latest craze is for young people to stick gum on the walls as a symbol of their undying love'.

 

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