If Shakespeare rewrote his Romeo and Juliet in 2017 …. (inspired by a visit to La Casa di Giulietta in Verona) ….

Romeo:
She speaks.
O, speak again, bright angel, for thou art
As glorious to this night, being o’er my head,
As is a winged messenger of heaven …

Juliet:
Romeo, Romeo, wherefore moveth thou thy jaw hither and yon?
What eulogy of love wouldst thou speak unto me?

Romeo:
Nay, these are no words of love my lady
Tis but humble chewing gum
that I am by ancient tradition bound
to stick upon this sickly wall

Juliet:
Thou knowest the mask of night is on my face,
Else would a maiden blush bepaint my cheek
But fortune hast that my cell phone doth illuminate
And thus a selfie soon I shall thee send
Dost thou love me? I know thou wilt say ‘Ay’,
And I will take thy word. Yet, if thou swear’st,
Thou mayst prove false.
Yet if thou dost it proclaim
on facebook all is true

Romeo:
Lady, by yonder blessed gift shop I vow,
That tips with silver all these tacky locks
a sticking plaster upon these ancient walls
I shall place
my felt tip pen your name shalt intertwine with mine
this slimy chewing gum my soul’s devotion thou shalt prove ……

If love can be blind, so too can the imbecilic ‘tourist’, capable of reducing beauty to garbage. La Casa Di Giulietta in Verona, with its famous balcony, may be of dubious provenance, but it is, nonetheless, a potentially charming and picturesque setting.
Yet human beings are masters of self-deception: viewed through the rose tinted glasses of adolescent love this monument may well charm you. We see, on the whole, what we want to see.
Some of us though, are cursed (or blessed, depending upon how you look at it) with clarity of vision, and find ourselves unable to switch off from the ugly blemishes created by the unthinking masses.

And if you’ve visited La Casa di Giulietta recently you’ll know just what our modern day Shakespeare is talking about!

Large clumps of tourists at such a world famous location are only to be expected. But the funfair like House of Horrors that awaits one is absolutely stupefying. Like some insidious disease in this otherwise largely pristine city, the ugly graffiti oozes its way out of the corridor that runs between the entrance gate and Giulietta’s (would be) charming courtyard. It spreads itself upon the walls to each side of the wrought iron gates which bow beneath the weight of the obligatory lovers locks. But these are no simple padlocks, recycled as symbols of eternal love, for, as you are about to find out, these tacky relics are on sale in the nasty little gift shop, conveniently located right inside the courtyard.

Much like the ghoulish ghosts and skeletons decorating the façade of the House of Horrors, these abominations are merely a precursor of what’s to come.

That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;
So chewing gum would, were it not chewing gum call’d,
Retain that nauseous quality which it doth owe …

You enter the tunnel, take two paces, and stop in your tracks … the walls are black, your eyes adjust to the lack of light. “What is this blackish stuff?” you ask yourself. You focus: graffiti upon graffiti upon graffiti, sticking plasters, post-it notes, and …. is that really what you think it is? Unfortunately yes … chewing gum … YUK!
At this stage your interest in pursuing the legend of Giulietta begins to wane. But, like a moth to the flame, you stumble forth, mouth agape, into the light … and find yourself amidst a mass of selfie stick wielding zombies.

Bound by fake tradition, tourists cluster around a bronze statue of our heroine and, one by one, mount the plinth for a tasteful photo of themselves squeezing her right breast (for luck!) … then it’s off to ye olde gifte shoppe to buy some overpriced Made in China knick knacks. At this stage you hardly notice the famous balcony, your jaw drops and flaps as your mouth struggles to form words …..”how … why … what the f##k!?!”

So, is this just the opinion of a jaded old socially maladjusted idealist? Perhaps … or perhaps not? Let’s have a look at a few reviews for La Casa di Giulietta left by Italian visitors on www.tripadvisor.it:

“Non è cambiato nulla. Vedo sempre la solita ressa di sporcaccioni desiderosi di graffitare i muri di una casa storica che comunque non è veramente quella di Giulietta.”

…

“Ci sono delle pareti dove poter scrivere i nomi della coppia ma fa un po’ schifo che ci sono anche gomme da masticare attaccate!”

….

“Androne d’ingresso tutto graffittato al punto di non leggere nessuna dedica, corte sottostante il famoso balcone disordinatamente affollata, rito della foto con mano sul seno della statua di Giulietta un po’ così.”