What if Romeo hadn’t drank the poison? What if Juliet had awoken to find her beau alive & kicking at her bedside and they’d ridden off into the sunset in search of a love nest, to live out the rest of their days happily ever after? Now that would be a house I’d like to visit. And some five centuries after their story is thought to have taken place, it appears as if the Italian real estate market has really changed all that much. You see, I’ve been imaginary house-hunting again in the dreamy property books of Italian agency Lionard, and it seems there is no shortage of historic castles and palatial estates fit for a Montague heir and his runaway bride. Palazzo’s of all shapes and sizes, waiting for a new generation to save them from ruin. Let’s just play real estate agent to Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers for a moment…
In Fair Verona
A 16th century Renaissance villa on the outskirts of Verona, fitting almost the exact image one might have had in their mind of the Capulet family home imagined by Shakespeare.
Immersed in a silent 7 hectare park with a magnificent path lined with cypresses, statues, fountains and a nymphaeum colonnade, the villa is known as Villa ca’ Vendri, a name that seems to have derived from Venus, as, in Roman times, it is said that there was a temple in the area devoted to this goddess. For centuries, this villa and its park have been the ideal place for festivals, meetings and weddings, which is currently its primary use.
Take a wander through more of this villa.