Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ROMEO & JULIET IN VERONA
Shakespeare had no idea what he'd start when he set his (heavily derivative) tale of star-crossed lovers
in Verona, but the city has seized the commercial possibilities with both hands - everything from
os-
terie
(taverns) and hotels to embroidered kitchen aprons get the R&J branding. While the play's depic-
tion of feuding families has genuine provenance, the lead characters themselves are fictional. Undaun-
ted, in the 1930s the authorities settled on a house in Via Cappello (think Capulet) as Juliet's and ad-
ded a 14th-century-style balcony and a bronze statue of our heroine. You can squeeze through the
Cappello 23; adult/reduced €6/4.50 or with VeronaCard; 8.30am-7.30pm Tue-Sun, 1.30-7.30pm
Mon) onto the balcony itself, or see the circus from the square below, a spot framed by a slew of
scribbled love graffiti.
Festivals & Events
VinItaly
(
www.vinitaly.com
)
Held in April, the country's largest wine expo is open only to food and
wine professionals. The event includes tastings, presentations about winemaking and un-
matched insight into the breadth and depth of Italian wines.
WINE
Estate Teatrale Veronese
(
www.estateteatraleveronese.it
)
One of the best ways to experience Verona's 1st-century-BC
Roman amphitheatre is during the summer festival, when a program of theatre (with a
clear preference for Shakespeare and Goldoni), dance and jazz are performed at the ar-
chaeological site overlooking the city.
THEATRE, JAZZ
Sleeping
Cooperativa Albergatori Veronesi
( 045 800 98 44;
www.veronabooking.com
)
offers a no-fee
booking service for two-star hotels. For homestyle stays outside the city centre, check
Ver-
ona Bed & Breakfast
(
www.bedandbreakfastverona.com
)
.
Villa Francescatti
( 045 59 03 60;
www.ostelloverona.it
; Salita Fontana del Ferro 15; dm €18-20; 7am-11.30pm)
This
HI youth hostel is housed in a 16th-century villa on a garden estate a 20-minute walk from
central Verona. Rooms are off limits 9am to 5pm, and dinners require a reservation. Catch
HOSTEL
€
