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t e i l u J o t Letters By Dani Messick, House and Home Feature Writer
VERONA, ITALY -- Break out your stationary and brush up on your calligraphy. Juliet is waiting. The Juliet Club, in Italy, offers a unique experience to fans of William Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet to write a love letter to Juliet Capulet. Yes, the 2010 romantic comedy starring Amanda Seyfried was inspired by a 2006 book of the same name, chronicling a would-be “Secretary of Juliet,” as she responds to a lost letter written to the Juliet Club many years ago. Known as the city of love, the club is centered in Verona, Italy, which is also the locale of the Shakespearan tragedy, based on historical events.
The club also offers prizes for various written works of love. The “Dear Juliet” prize is given to the most beautiful love letters each year around Valentine’s Day. Letters can be submitted by e-mail or text, but the best way is hand-written and by mail. Letters may be submitted to the Juliet Club, located at Vicolo Santa Cecilia 9, 37121, Verona, Italy. For more information, visit www.julietclub.com n
But despite her tragic death, Juliet herself has become an icon of love and every year the Secretaries of Juliet, volunteer to the cause, write back to every one of them. The story begins in the 1930s, when Ettore Solimani, guardian to the tomb believed to have housed to real-life Juliet located inside the underground crypt of the church of San Francesco al Corso (a deconsecrated church and houses the G.B. Cavalcaselle Museum of Frescoes), began gathering letters people left at the grave and replying to them. Today, a host of volunteer secretaries of Juliet continue his tradition. Nearly 50 secretaries from around the world read over 50,000 letters each year.
30 | Michiana House and Home | February 2022 |
photos: Resul Muslu / Shutterstock.com
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... and now you know!
