Photo 1: The Juliet and Romeo’s castles at top of the hill
O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father, and refuse thy name! or if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, and I’ll no longer be a Capulet.
I know, the legend of Romeo and Juliet is linked to Verona, because William Shakespeare set his tragedy there. But what’s the real story? The story of the two unfortunate lovers is very old but in 1530 Luigi da Porto, a nobleman in Vicenza, wrote the novel of Romeo and Juliet with all the elements that Willian Shakespeare used in his tragedy with the same names for all the other characters. William Shakespeare wrote the magnificent tragedy in 1594/96, 64 years after Luigi da Porto.
Photo 2: Juliet’s castle
Photo 3: Juliet’s castle
Photo 4: Juliet’s castle
Today I visited by bicycle the castles of Romeo and Juliet in Montecchio Maggiore, other pearls of the Vicenza area. Luigi da Porto’s novel is also linked to Verona, but from his room in Montorso, after retiring from battles and wars because he was very wounded in the face, he was inspired by the two opposing castles on top of the hill for his novel.
Photo 5: Romeo’s castle view from Juliet’s castle
Photo 6: Romeo’s castle
Photo 7: Romeo’s castle
Photo 8: Romeo’s castle
And so the two castles remain linked to the history of the Capulets and the Montecchi, the two families. With a lot of effort uphill, (never ask for local directions!), I will arrive at the top, at Juliet’s Castle. The first records of these castles date back to 1008 and were destroyed and rebuilt several times. They were definitively destroyed in 1514 by the League of Cambrai and never rebuilt.
Photo 9: Luigi da Porto’s house in Vicenza
Photo 10: Luigi da Porto’s house in Vicenza, the plaque.
Photo 11: Vicenza, Contrà Porti, in background the Basilica Palladiana
In one of the most historic streets of Vicenza there is his palace with a plaque that remembers that the story of Romeo and Juliet was written by Luigi da Porto.
