"Juliet Club" responds to love letters sent to Verona
Verona, Italy — There is something undeniably romantic about the Italian city of Verona, where William Shakespeare set his famed tale "Romeo and Juliet." Tourists make a sort of love-pilgrimage to what's celebrated as Juliet Capulet's house.
Cristina Spagnolo, who usually works in a gelato shop, moonlights as "Juliet" and collects some of the thousands of letters that pour in annually, seemingly, from another era.
"We use phone, telephone, yeah, Instagram, Facebook, and it's beautiful to see that people write with paper and pen," she said.
Those letters wind up at the Juliet Club, where they're carefully pondered by a rotating cast of volunteers. On one day, that included three Americans who were studying abroad in Italy.
"Juliet is an icon of love and romance and you want to make sure that you're really embodying that and really getting into that," said Madison Vettorino.
The club answers letters on topics that run the gamut, from falling in love with your friend to falling out of love with your spouse.
Giovanna Tamasso, the president of the Juliet Club, said letters have been coming to Verona since the 1930s after a Hollywood film was released.
The number of letters they receive is increasing. Perhaps, in our fast-paced world there's something to be gained by slowing down and seeking the advice of another time.
