L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 2023 www.italoamericano.org 12 L'Italo-Americano I f you think about it, Verona, one of our most beautiful cities, h a s b e e n m a d e w o r l d - f a m o u s b y a Briton. And certainly not a random one: William Shake- speare. The Bard - this is what the residents of the land of Albion like to call him - chose this elegant Veneto town with ancient Roman origins as the backdrop for what is, perhaps, his most iconic tragedy, Romeo and Juliet. Since the first time the play was represented, back in 1597, the names of its two young and tragic protago- nists, and that of the città Scaligera, became almost o n e t h i n g , t o t h e p o i n t I sometimes wonder why no one says that Verona - and not Paris! - is the city of Love ... I guess it may have to do with the fact Romeo and Juli- et's love story didn't end up that well. But I don't want to spoil the ending, in case there is still someone not familiar with the plot, unlikely as it may be: I would rather focus on … location. The house of Juliet, with its famous bal- cony and statue, is part of almost every tour of Verona: e v e r y o n e k n o w s a b o u t i t , people send love letters to its address and, while the build- ing is not where the Capuletis t r u l y l i v e d , i t r e m a i n s a beloved stop for tourists. It's not quite the same for Juliet's young paramour, Romeo: heir to the wealthy and pow- erful Montecchi family, his home is perhaps not as well- known as his lover's. But that doesn't mean you can't go check it out, although only from the outside, as it is a private residence. You can, however, get a feel for it - and a good meal - on what used to be the Montecchis' first floor, where today we find an oste- ria. The Montecchis' palace is at the very heart of Verona's historic center, in a quiet a l l e y c a l l e d v i a A r c h e Scaligere, away from the bus- t l e o f l a r g e r a n d b u s i e r streets, but not far from Juli- et's house. With it, and with Juliet's tomb, it's part of what we commonly know as "la V e r o n a d i S h a k e s p e a r e , " itineraries and places linked with the playwright's work. O n c e u p o n a t i m e , i t wouldn't have taken long for Romeo to reach his beloved's balcony: between the lovers' homes, there were only the local Botanical Gardens - which are still there today, as a matter of fact. Now, before w e b e g i n d e s c r i b i n g h o w beautiful and rich of history the building is, a short note: we are not sure whether the Montecchis, who was a real Veronese family just like the Capuletis, really lived in this house or not. However, we know the Montecchis did live i n t h e a r e a o f v i a A r c h e Scaligere, so we are definite- ly in the right part of town. The building is one of the best preserved Medieval resi- dences in town and it strikes for two specific features: its red-brick façade and its orig- inal Ghibelline crenella- tion, which surmounts part of it. Yesterday as today, the h o m e d e v e l o p s a r o u n d a court which is, however, not visitable, because private. While we imagine a hand- some Romeo looking out of one of the home's windows, let's talk about history: the history of the building, of course, but also the history of the Montecchi family. We mentioned the characteristic swallow-tail crenellation that tops the central part of the building: a Ghibelline crenel- lation. The Ghibellines, during the late Middle Ages and the early years of the Renaissance, between the 13th and the 14th century, were those who wanted the Holy Roman Empire to be m o r e i n f l u e n t i a l i n t h e peninsula, while their rivals, the Guelfs, supported the Pope. The two rival factions created unrest in many of I t a l y ' s c o m u n i , i n c l u d i n g Verona. Their conflicts were b l o o d y , v i o l e n t , a n d v e r y common, with power passing from one side to the other incredibly often. In Verona, just like in any other Italian town of the time, every pow- erful family would take a side and would often be quite vocal about it: the crenella- tion of Romeo's house tells us that its inhabitants were certainly on the Emperor's side. Indeed, historical records do confirm that the Montec- chis were Ghibellines and supporters of Ezzelino da R o m a n o , w h o b e c a m e a leader not only in Verona but in the whole Veneto region. W h e n , i n 1 2 5 9 , E z z e l i n o died, the Consiglio, Verona's very influential town council, nominated Mastino I Della Scala capitano del popolo, that is, leader of the com- mune, for his entire life: it w a s t h e b e g i n n i n g o f t h e Della Scala family domi- nation on Verona. Now, the M o n t e c c h i s w e r e n ' t t o o happy about it, because the rise to power of one family meant they would likely lose power themselves. That's why, in 1325 they, along with other local noblemen, con- s p i r e d a g a i n s t t h e D e l l a Scalas. Their scheming was discovered and the Montec- chis, along with all other con- spirators, were banned from Verona and deprived of all their belongings. For some, it is at this stage that Romeo's home - if it really belonged to the Montecchis, that is - was "reassigned" to the Nogaro- las, who were faithful to the Della Scalas. S h a k e s p e a r e n e v e r explained why the Capuletis a n d t h e M o n t e c c h i s w e r e arch-enemies, but consider- ing the political orientation o f t h e l a t t e r , i t i s e a s y t o imagine the former may have been imagined as Guelfs by t h e B a r d . D a n t e h i m s e l f mentions the two families in the Sixth Canto of Purgatory when he mentions the con- trasts between Guelfs and Ghibellines: another nod to t h e h i s t o r i c i t y o f t h e t w o families and to how, very often, poetry and real life can easily become one thing. GIULIA FRANCESCHINI The Montecchis' house, with its Ghibelline crenellation (Photo: OlenaSign/Dreamstime) Verona and Romeo's not-so-secret dwellings ALL AROUND ITALY TRAVEL TIPS DESTINATIONS ACTIVITIES

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