The tradition of rubbing the bronze statue of Juliet in Verona pretty "patted" the monument, which caused an urgent need to replace it with a copy.
Touching the three-dimensional image of one of the main characters of the Shakespearean play seeks all those who do not add up to a romantic relationship. However, over the years, after tens of thousands of tourists touched the statue of Capulet, it lost its former appearance and was removed from the courtyard of the house of Juliet (Casa di Giulietta) in Verona. Local authorities decided to send the original to the museum and replace it with a high-quality copy, the production of which will take about 20 thousand euros from the city budget.
“There are obvious signs of wear and damage on the statue. And this “merit” is not only a huge number of tourists, but also weather conditions, ”said Erica Righetti, a member of the city council. “About a week it will take to cast the contours of the statue, after which the experts will be able to recreate a copy of it, which will serve as a replacement.”
Speaking of obvious wear and tear, Erica means a crack in Juliet’s right chest, supposedly the result of romantic touches, as well as another damage to the statue’s right hand, which most tourists hold on to, posing for photographs.
“People climb onto the monument and hang on it,” said Giulio Tamassia, president of the Juliet Club, an association associated with this tourist destination.
Flavio Tosi, Mayor of Verona, said: “This is an unusual occurrence for our city, given that the statue of Juliet, like the Colosseum, are the most recognizable symbols of Verona in the whole world.” Juliet’s house is visited from year to year. crowds of tourists, thus it is the main source of income for the city. Only last year, this place was visited about 250 thousand touristsdespite the fact that Juliet and her lover were fictional characters. And this is not the first time that the authorities are forced to intervene in the work of the "Juliet's House" due to the dangerous influx of visitors.
In 2012, several tourists paid huge fines for desecrating this cultural place, where they tried to leave notes on the walls of the courtyard.
The tradition of leaving love letters in the house of Juliet Capulet, Romeo's lover, was recently conveyed in the Hollywood film "Letters to Juliet", which starred Amanda Seyfried, Gael Garcia Bernal and other talented actors.
Watch the video trailer:
According to the plot of the picture, a young American who leaves letters to Shakespeare's heroine accidentally discovers another message behind a massive stone. Later, she manages to learn that these lines were written more than half a century ago and are dedicated to the Italian, from whom her beloved fled to England. A young girl is looking for the author of the letter, and together they go in search of her long-standing love.
Every year, thousands of letters come to the house of Capulet, in which romantics entangled in love relationships ask the Shakespearean girl for advice.
Workers of a specially created service, whose main office is located on the top floor of the house where the heroine of a touching story lived, respond to messages.
