Love's Labour Found

Sydney Morning Herald

Saturday August 9, 2008

Kevin Pilley

In Verona, the city of star-crossed lovers, Kevin Pilley meets the team supporting the world's oldest agony aunt.

It must be the most fondled breast in the world. Everyone wants to rub it and hold it for a while. There is always a long queue of people eager to knead Juliet's right bosom.

The bust is 36 years old and, as a consequence, is showing signs of wear and tear. It has been buffed to a smooth shine. More than three decades of manhandling has taken its toll. A bronze B-cup has become an A-cup.

"Touching Juliet's bust is meant to bring good luck and a happy love life," my Verona city guide, Manuela Uber, says as we watch tourists queueing to touch up Miss Capulet.

"You run the risk of great tragedy by not giving it a quick squeeze."

Nereo Costantini's bronze sculpture, unveiled in 1972, stands in front of Juliet Capulet's five-storey 13th-century house, which was bought by the city of Verona in 1890. Graffiti covers the walls of the Casa di Giulietta at No.23 Via Cappello. A gift shop, theatre, coin and commemorative medal shop, an Armani outlet and a pastry and ice-cream shop are Juliet's modern neighbours. Ivy climbs up to her balcony where couples come to pledge their troth, renew vows and snog.

They also come to sign the visitors' books and leave messages to the star-crossed lover. "The life is short and I will die one day. So give me some love before I go," writes Elsa. A 400-page book is filled by lovers and lonely hearts every week in Verona.

"There is a cap above the archway and over the fireplace inside the house, so we know it probably belonged to the Capulet family," Uber says as we stand on the famous balcony looking up at the walls where Romeo "with love's light wings did o'erperch".

"The balcony wouldn't have been outside in Juliet's day. It would have been a security risk and an invitation to burglars. Outside balconies came in the 15th century. There would have been a balcony in the inner courtyard of the house."

Uber is a mother of two and also personal assistant to Juliet, one of a team of seven secretaries answering her mail. Miss Capulet is the world's oldest agony aunt. She receives hundreds of letters every year, although she has been dead for several centuries. Verona stages a festival on her birthday on September 16.

"It's a great responsibility writing on behalf of Juliet," Uber says. "The letters she gets are all about unrequited, forbidden and thwarted love. There are many people still suffering in the same way Juliet did with Romeo.

"They relate to her. She is a symbol of doomed but eternal love. That is why so many people write to her. Her story is universal. As relevant today as it was in the 14th century."

Set in 1303 and published in 1596, Shakespeare's tragic tale of Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet was well known in Italy. A cavalry captain, Luigi Da Porto, had already written a novel about the two feuding families. The first lonely-heart letter to Juliet arrived in her home town in 1927. In 1937, shortly after the release of George Cukor's film, another arrived. It was simply addressed "Juliet, Verona".

The then-curator of Juliet's tomb, which is in a monastery in the city centre, replied. More letters arrived and the "Club di Giulietta" was formed. Its office is a converted garage.

The only two male members of the club are the office cat (named Romeo) and the club's founder, Giulio Tamassia, a retired cake and confectionery factory manager.

"To be one of Juliet's secretaries you must be discreet and sensitive," he says. "It does not matter if Juliet was real or fictional. The thing which matters is that everyone gets a reply. For many she is real and her story is real.

"The Capulets did exist. They were called the Cappellos. You can see the family's emblematic cap carved in the archway and over the fireplace at Juliet's house at No.23 Via Cappello."

Couples come to Verona to marry near her empty sarcophagus, he says. Some, such as Lord Byron, chip off a souvenir from her tomb.

"We have two letterboxes in town just for people to write to her," Tamassia says with a laugh. "But the thing everyone wants to do is touch her right breast."

Tamassia's daughter, Giovanna, a professional translator and interpreter, supervises all the incoming and outgoing mail. "We get every conceivable type of letter. From every country. We get a lot from prisoners. People just want to talk. To establish a dialogue. To share their innermost feelings and problems with Juliet Capulet.

"Juliet does not theorise or judge. She listens and tries to understand. We say things like age and race are not important and only true love counts. And that sometimes keeping love is as hard as finding it. These people share with Juliet a feeling that the world is against them. That they are not cut out for happiness. We answer SOSes from modern star-crossed lovers."

Another secretary, Stefania Bua, says: "Despite the fact she was only 14 when she died, Juliet is their sister, their mother and their confidante. To know you have helped to make someone less sad and more happy is a wonderful feeling.

"The Italians write passionate letters. So do the French. The French seem to have the most complicated romantic lives. To many Italy is the land of love."

Every Valentine's Day, the club awards a prize for the best love letters. A British lover has never won.

The secretaries gather around a table to discuss how to answer newly arrived letters. "How do you know when you are in love? Is it when the sun shines brightly and the stars twinkle more in the sky?" This envelope carries an Australian stamp.

"I don't see stars when he kisses me. How can I make a Romeo of this man? Or is my Romeo someone else?" asks another, from Sydney.

"Dearest Juliet, I am writing because you alone can understand. I know you are still living because you live in each one of us. In all our hearts." This letter is from Victoria.

FAST FACTS

Getting there

There will be at least two stops en route to Verona. The cheapest fare of $1300 is with Air France, where you fly Qantas to Hong Kong or Singapore and then Air France via an aircraft change in Paris. (Fares are low-season return from Melbourne and Sydney, not including tax.)

Verona is an hour's drive from Venice and 41/2 hours by train from Rome.

While you're there

Juliet's tomb in Via delle Pontiere 5 is a short walk from her house, at Via Capello 23. Open daily. Entry to the tomb is free, entrance to the house and balcony is EUR4 ($6.70). Romeo's house in Via della Arche is not open to the public.

Verona is famous for its opera season and Roman edifices, including the largest amphitheatre in northern Italy. See www.tourism.verona.it.

© 2008 Sydney Morning Herald

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