Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Shakespeare's Veneto
There is much debate about whether Shakespeare ever visited Italy, but his Italian
plays are full of local knowledge. Venetian writer, architect and presenter
Francesco
da Mosto
spoke to
Lonely Planet Traveller
magazine about the playwright's favourite
Italian cities.
Verona
Verona was not thought of as a city of romance before
Romeo and Juliet
- in fact, not
many people would have heard of it as it was very much in the shadow of Venice at
that time. We don't know whether Romeo and Juliet existed, although Italian poet
Dante did mention two feuding families, called the Montecchi and the Cappelletti. The
famous balcony where Romeo is said to have declared his love to Juliet is close to
Verona's main promenade - although since the balcony was apparently added to a
suitably old house in 1936, it's doubtful it is the original! My favourite site in Verona
is Juliet's tomb. People go there to pay tribute to Juliet and Shakespeare - even Dick-
ens visited.
Padua
The University of Padua was one of the first in the world, and in Shakespeare's time,
the city was very well known as a centre of learning throughout Europe - Galileo [of
telescope fame] and Casanova [of sexual-conquest fame] are both alumni.
Shakespeare used its reputation, rather than actual locations, as a backdrop to
The
Taming of the Shrew
- apart from the university, he rarely mentions specific sites. The
best way to experience Shakespeare's Padua is by having a stroll around the uni-
versity. It feels like a little world unto itself, detached from the rest of the city. There is
a marvellous wooden anatomical amphitheatre in the Medical School that was built in
the 16th century, where they dissected humans and animals for the students. The life
of the university runs through the city. It's lovely to walk through the portico walk-
ways that run under the houses, and into the Prato della Valle, one of the main city
squares.
