Perillo Tours

“Two households, both alike in dignity, in fair Verona, where we lay our scene, from ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.”

These opening lines of Shakespeare’s most famous play are arguably what has made “fair Verona” famous. The building was owned by the Dal Cappello family, whose coat-of-arms remains, in the 12th century.

The similarity of the name Cappello to Capulet began the popular belief that this was the home of Juliet, fictional heroine of the play. There is a tall ivy-laden balcony at Casa de Giulietta, too, evocative of the one in the play. The house was renovated in 1935 and is now used to display temporary art exhibitions, Renaissance ceramics, and furnishings, frescoes, and paintings relating to the story of Romeo and Juliet.

A bronze statue of Juliet, by sculptor Nereo Costantini, stands in the courtyard. Other Shakespeare-inspired landmarks in the area include Juliet's Tomb, now a romantic venue for small weddings, and Casa de Romeo – Romeo’s House – the historical home of the Montecchi family, said to have been the models for Shakespeare's Montagues.