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Italy: 1st wedding held at Juliet's presumed house

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-06-02 09:13

ROME – An Italian soccer player is the first person to marry under the balcony where, legend has it, Romeo wooed Juliet.

Luca Ceccarelli (R) kisses his wife Irene Lanforti after getting married at Casa di Giulietta in Verona June 1, 2009. Casa di Giulietta, or Juliet's House, is a museum dedicated to Shakespeare's "Romeo & Juliet" play. The museum contains frescoes, paintings and other artefacts related to the story. Ceccarelli and Lanforti are the first couple recorded to marry at the 'Juliet's balcony', claimed by locals to be the very same balcony Juliet cried out for her lover Romeo. [Agencies]

Verona Mayor Flavio Tosi conducted Monday's wedding between Luca Ceccarelli, who plays for Hellas Verona, and his Juliet — girlfriend Irene Lanforti — in the 14th-century Casa di Giulietta, or House of Juliet.

The idea is part of a campaign by Verona, where William Shakespeare set his tale of star-crossed lovers, to foster its image as a romantic city.

The House of Juliet is one of the top tourist spots in a city that draws about 1.2 million visitors annually. The building belonged to the Cappello family, traditionally identified with the Capulets, leading to the folklore that the model for Shakespeare's fictional character once lived there.

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