How do you mend a broken heart? In the midst of all the sadness and sorrow, some people turn to gloomy songs that seem to sing to the tune of a broken heart… others to ice-cream, chocolate or cheesy romantic comedies.
Some people turn to literature though, to the great romances and classical couples — and of these, Romeo and Juliet are the epitome of the star-crossed lovers. If anyone could understand them, surely it would be Juliet. If only one could write to her…
Actually you can — and many people do, sending thousands of letters every year simply addressed to “Juliet, Verona, Italy”. The missives are delivered to Il Club di Giulietta (Juliet’s Club), a group of volunteers in Verona who take the time to read and reply to all the letters, by hand. They explain:
“The story of the Juliet Letters starts in the 1930’s when Ettore Solimani, the guardian of Juliet’s Tomb, began gathering the first letters people left at the grave and, moved by this phenomenon, he started replying, thus becoming the first “Juliet’s secretary”. Today this special task is taken by the Juliet Club: each letter is read, translated, answered by the ”Juliet’s secretaries" who keep a one-of-a-kind archive that contains thousands of love stories and countless words of love."
Last month, a group of Italian postcrossers visited the club’s office, where they were treated to a guided tour by Manuela Uber, one of Juliet’s secretaries. They listened to the story of the club, looked through some letters and took a lot of nice photos to share the experience!
Afterwards, they all sat down in a pizzeria to eat… and write some postcards, naturally! :)
Thank you Kinucci for telling us about this lovely meetup, and Saintursula, Antonella-, uncoiled_tiger and Jeraldine for letting us show your photos.
PS – If you’re in the mood for a cheesy romantic comedy, there’s also a movie about Il Club di Giulietta, called Letters to Juliet! 😀
19 comments so far
I'm more of a gloomy songs and icecream type of person myself so I would never have thought such a thing possible, but woww, great that people make the effort to comfort others.
Great Story!
Ahhh ... I've seen "Letters to Juliett" (movie with Amanda Seyfried <3
I want to go to Verona
I wrote to Julia when was in Verona 2 years ago, put my letter to special mailbox near Julia's balcony. Maybe one day she will reply ;) I love the idea and recomemend movie "Letters to Juliet"
Really nice story, thank you so much for sharing # LOVE#
Cheesy it may be, but I adore "Letters to Juliet," not the least because it features the long-time lovers Vanessa Redgrave and Franco Nero. I'm so pleased to learn that there really is a Club di Giulieta! Thanks so much for this post!
I'd heard of this club before. How wonderful it sounds. I will have to visit it sometime. The list of places to visit ever increases.
Dear " Kinucci " :) , thank you for sharing the story and the pictures :) . The " special card " sent by you and your friends is very precious for me <3 !!
What a great story....
Wonderful! Thank you for sharing! <3
"But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun!" (2.2.2-3) Nice story, great people! Well done!
So my dearest postcrosser's:
"Good Night, Good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow, that I shall say good night till it be morrow." (2.2.185-186)
That's another great story! I love those blogs. You Always learn something new!
Thank you for sharing this great story :)
Also thought that 'Letters to Juliet' was fiction... Nice to read. Imagine the inspiration of such meet up! <3
Awesome
Thanks for this great post. Love the movie Letters to Juliet. Love a good romantic.
"Good morrow, cousin! - Is the day so young?" ...
My all-time favourite story. I try to see every Romeo and Juliet film, opera, musical, or play that I can, and collect Romeo-and-Juliet postcards and other items. So I will definitely write a Letter to Juliet to confess my love to her story! Grazie molto for the post!
Thank you very much for this post! Seems a wonderful meet-up and very interesting visit. I love this Giulietta-club, what a great idea!
To those who like gloomy songs - here's the soundtrack to this post: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wDQRmUJSN4
Oh, I know 'Letters to Juliet' because my friend recommeneded it. It was interesting:)