No love lost in Verona as council takes on shops at Juliet’s balcony

IT IS the place where, legend has it, the Shakespeare’s besotted Romeo passionately vied for the affections of Juliet.

But love is no longer in the air in Verona, where council bosses have formulated a plan to curb the number of tourists who overcrowd the House of Juliet every year.

More than a million visitors descend on a tiny courtyard in the northern Italian city every year even though there is no proof that the 13th-century gothic palazzo was inhabited by the teenager – nor, indeed, that she ever existed beyond the realm of William Shakespeare’s imagination.

The courtyard is generally packed, with tourists spilling out on to the street, infuriating locals.

The city council now wants to expropriate the handful of businesses located around the edge of the courtyard, including a souvenir shop, a coin collector and a bed and breakfast, so the proprietors can no longer vote down crowd-calming measures.

The proposal comes after years in which other proposals, such as installing turnstiles or selling tickets, were rejected by business owners, who profit handsomely from the hordes.

Expropriating the businesses would be “an act of courage that would finally

‘Entering the courtyard would remain free – we just want to manage the flow of visitors’

put an end to the vetoes of the stakeholders” in the courtyard, said Vincenzo Tinè, the head of cultural heritage and archeology for Verona.

The city’s mayor, Federico Sboarina, is in favour of the idea.

Mirella Gobbi Sprocagnocchi, his spokesman, said: “Every proposal we have come up with to try to manage the number of tourists who enter the courtyard has been rejected by the business owners.

“If we can acquire ownership of the whole site then we can implement our plan, which would be to build turnstiles and require visitors to make an online booking. Entering the courtyard would remain free – we just want to manage the flow of visitors.”

The businesses would have to be bought by the council at market price and that could cost millions.

“The council needs to put the proposal to the culture minister in Rome before we can proceed. It’s going to take time, but it will happen,” she said.

There is no proof that Romeo or Juliet existed and Shakespeare never visited Verona.

The main inspiration for his play was The Tragicall Historye of Romeus and Juliet,