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Witness History: The Juliet letters

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The Juliet letters

14/02/2024 GMT

BBC World Service - Witness History, The Juliet letters

Since the 1990s the Juliet Club has answered letters to the Shakespearian heroine

Each year thousands of letters addressed to Shakespeare’s heroine, Juliet arrive in Verona. The Juliet Club has been answering those letters since the 1990s.

The Juliet Club is in Verona, Italy, a place known throughout the world as being the city of love. 

The club has been replying to mail addressed to Shakespeare’s tragic heroine, Juliet since the early 1990s. 

The story of the Juliet letters started in the 1930s when the guardian of what is known as Juliet’s tomb began gathering the first letters people left at the grave and answering them. 

The task was taken on by the Juliet Club which was founded by Giulio Tamassia in 1972. His daughter, Giovanna, tells Gill Kearsley that thousands of love letters from around the world are each given a personal response.

(Photo: Letters to the Juliet Club. Credit: Leonello Bertolucci/Getty Images)

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