"Romeo and Juliet": where does the play take place?

In the world literature there are works that are considered unconditional classics. Undoubtedly, they include the tragedy of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Where the play takes place, every schoolboy knows. The small Italian town of Verona is still a kind of pilgrimage site for lovers around the world. Here you can look at the house of Romeo and the tomb, which is associated with the young heroine of the tragedy.

Main events arena

The ancient city in which Romeo and Juliet lived, where the events that led to their tragic death occurred, are very well preserved. Guides with might and main exploit the image of Shakespeare's heroes, arguing that in each narrow alley one can meet their ghosts. Verona was built according to ancient traditions. It is possible that the area of the drama - this is the oldest square of the city, Piazza Bra, preserved to this day.

House of Juliet

In medieval Verona there were actually two noble families who served as prototypes of Montague and Capulets: the Monticoli family and Dal Capello. Whether there was such an irreconcilable hostility between them, is for certain not known, but the house in which Romeo and Juliet first met, where the action takes place, in which they fall in love, as if struck by thunder, exists. Today it is turned into a museum. The city authorities are not at all against earning money on romantic tourists.

At the entrance visitors immediately get to the inner courtyard, which is an elegant balcony with carved handrails. It's easy to guess that this is the place where Romeo and Juliet had their first date. Kiss on the legendary balcony - the cherished dream of romantics around the world. It should be noted, however, that the authenticity is not fully respected: Shakespeare says unequivocally that the young Montague hides beneath a balcony in the garden, and not on a stone paved patio.

However, do not be too finicky. City authorities have done everything possible and impossible to restore the interior of the house where the main character of the tragedy "Romeo and Juliet" lived, where the action takes place, during which the lovers get acquainted and then say goodbye. The ball probably took place on the third floor - in a spacious hall with a fireplace decorated with the coat of arms of Del Capello. The interior of Juliet's room was carefully recreated in the famous painting "The Last Kiss" by F. Ayets, on which the artist depicted the farewell of the lovers.

Secret marriage and exile

Not far from Verona are the remains of an ancient Franciscan monastery, in which, probably, there was a cell of brother Lorenzo - a monk, with the help of which they combined the secret marriage of Romeo and Juliet. Where there are actions directly related to the wedding, the drama is not mentioned, but, according to legend, this ordinance took place precisely in this monastery.

Soon after the wedding, the protagonist turns into an exile. In an effort to avenge the death of his friend Mercutio, he fiercely fights with Tibaldo, his wife's cousin-and kills him.

The cup of patience of Veronese is overflowing. Everyone is indignant, including the Duke - the ruler of the city. Since only Romeo remained alive from the fighters, his anger is concentrated on him: he is forced to leave both Verona and his young wife.

Happy Medieval Marriages

In the meantime, the bride is trying to marry. One of the most violent is the scene of the drama "Romeo and Juliet", where the action takes place in the room of the main character. Here, the lovers were saying good-bye recently, and now the head of the Capulety family throws harsh words into the daughter's face: if the girl does not marry the count, he is not her father.

To understand the whole series of tragic events in the play "Romeo and Juliet", where and when the action takes place - it is important. It is a medieval city of the XIV century, in which noble feudal lords are fighting internecine warfare and where the desire of the bride is not necessarily an indispensable condition for marriage. In those days, with his daughters, indeed, one could not stand on ceremony: the threats of the Capulets were not empty-in his power to doom Juliet to starvation and wanderings.

Brother Lorenzo agrees to help: he gives a thirteen-year-old girl a bottle with a terrible potion. After drinking it, she falls asleep with a dead dream.

The tragic denouement

Then begins the fifth, last, act of the tragedy "Romeo and Juliet", where the action takes place on Mantua Street, a town 40 km from Verona (in such "unthinkable distance" from the house the protagonist is serving his exile). To him is the servant and informs that Juliet is dead. At the same time, the envoy of brother Lorenzo, who must warn that death is falsified, is late with this important news. Immediately, the young Montague buys a poison from the pharmacist and hurries to meet his fate.

The denouement of the drama Romeo and Juliet, where action takes place in the family tomb of Capulet, is known to every person who can read. According to legend, this place was located on the territory of the same monastery, where the heroes were married.

Immortal heroes today

Juliet's Tomb today is considered one of the most popular attractions of Verona. In the underground room, where the entrance leads through the church courtyard, is a coffin made of red marble. In it, and was buried the young sweetheart Romeo.

Of course, there is no absolute certainty about this, but the tomb and the sarcophagus are genuine, very ancient. It is possible that the victim of unhappy love rested there , especially since the plot about the alleged death of a girl that resulted in the suicide of her lover, and then the real death of the heroine himself, appears in Italian literature many times and (moreover) long before the first edition of the tragedy Shakespeare. A similar story is described in Ovid's "Metamorphosis", and in fact they, quite possibly, were created in the first century BC.