[Letters to Juliet, a romantic comedy starring Amanda Seyfried, is well worth watching if you’ve never seen it.]
From The Argus of Western America (Frankfort, Kentucky), May 6, 1829
Every stranger who visits Verona, is sure to have his empathy moved, and his curiosity excited, by what is called the ‘Tomb of Juliet,’ and there is no man who has read Shakespeare that will not hasten to the spot where it lies.
Contiguous to the church of San Francisco, is Citadella, where Romeo and Juliet were married, is a small garden, formerly attached to the Franciscan monastery, but now in private hands. In the midst of it is an old sarcophagus, which, from time immemorial has been shown as the tomb of Juliet. It is much mutilated, and has sunk considerably into the earth. It is exactly six feet long, and is just wide enough to hold two bodies, The mutilation of the sides of this sarcophagus is said to have taken place when it was first removed from the Church of St. Permore Maggiore, where it had lain for ages. It was then placed in a garden adjacent to the old monastery, which was accessible to the public, and every stranger who came, broke off a piece of it, and carried it away with him. In consequence of this, the Podesta give orders that it should be removed for better security, to the place where it is now exhibited; and any person attempting to do it further injury, as a proof of his or her veneration, is liable to a severe penalty.
Image courtesy of Pixabay by Kurtis Garbutt (no changes).