The recent ranking published by the British daily The Telegraph, which placed Juliet’s House among the tourist attractions “to avoid”, has caused surprise and disappointment. This reaction is not so much due to the judgement itself, but to what it reveals about the unresolved relationship between Verona and one of its most powerful symbols.
The numbers are clear: most visitors to Verona pass through Juliet’s balcony. Perhaps even more significant is that most people who dream of Verona first encounter the city online, specifically through Juliet.
Millions of searches every year for “Juliet”, “Juliet’s Balcony”, and “Romeo and Juliet” make this site the city’s true digital and emotional gateway to the world, often even before the Arena.
For this reason, an international rebuke cannot be dismissed as snobbery or superficiality. If such a central place is perceived as disappointing, the problem lies not with the myth it represents, but with how it has been managed and presented over time.
Unfortunately, looking back over the years – and there have been many – one cannot ignore a series of mistakes: tourists left waiting for hours under the summer sun, petty theft during long queues, unclear signage and information, and frequent changes in access arrangements (and recently also in pricing), all of which have created confusion.
These episodes have conveyed the image of a city insufficiently attentive to visitors and to the quality of their Veronese experience.
That said, an important step must be acknowledged. After more than ten years of attempts, the Municipality has launched a public–private partnership for managing access to Juliet’s House, with a defined route, ticketing, and online booking, set over a twelve-year timeframe.
This necessary stabilization allows the city to finally move beyond a long-standing emergency phase.
Now, however, it is time to look further ahead. Especially because Verona, when it comes to the theme of love, does not start from scratch. Events such as Verona in Love and the almost century-old activity of the Juliet Club, which replies every year to thousands of letters from all over the world, testify to the existence of a unique intangible heritage.
Yet the myth of Juliet has often endured rather than managed. A symbol sometimes perceived by Veronese residents as folklore or even a nuisance, rather than a strategic resource.
Meanwhile, globally, love tourism has become a mature and growing segment, capable of generating value across hospitality, food and beverage, retail, culture, and services.
The criticism voiced by The Telegraph may hurt those who love Verona, but it should also help us grow. Because if it is true that the balcony can disappoint, it is equally true that the myth of love continues to attract the entire world.
Today Verona faces a choice: to continue enduring this myth, or finally to transform it into the key to a more conscious and shared path of development.
