The statue of Juliet in front of the Casa di Giulietta in Verona.Image: www.imago-images.de
December 9, 2025, 1:15 p.mDecember 9, 2025, 1:15 p.m
Access to the famous Juliet statue in the northern Italian city of Verona under the supposed balcony from the Shakespeare classic “Romeo and Juliet” now costs admission for a month.
Visitors have to pay 12 euros (11.25 francs) until January 6th. The bronze girl figure is a popular tourist attraction in the city.
Previously, only the visit to the adjacent museum was chargeable, but not access to the courtyard with the statue. You can now only get into the courtyard with a museum ticket. However, the statue in particular is worth a visit for many visitors to Verona. It had become a tradition in the courtyard to touch Julia’s breasts – this supposedly guarantees eternal happiness in love.
City wants to reduce the number of visitors over Christmas
The city of Verona wants to reduce the number of visitors during the Christmas season with the one-month entry fee. The Association of Local Tour Guides criticized the move. The entry fee was introduced “from one day to the next and without notice”. It is particularly annoying that visitors now have to pay, even if they just want to take a photo with the Julia statue.
The figure – a work by the Italian sculptor Nereo Costantini – has been standing under the balcony since the 1970s. However, the original was brought into the house for protection in 2014 and replaced with a copy in the yard. In any case, practically everything in the “Casa di Giulietta” (“Juliet’s House”) is invented and recreated. A certain Julia Capuleti never lived there. (pre/sda)