Verona, Italy, is the setting for Shakespeare's tragedy Romeo and Juliet. In normal times, the city welcomes flocks of tourists who come to soak up the romantic atmosphere and visit the famous balcony to imagine Romeo declaring his love for Juliet. People also write letters to Juliet, 50,000 or so a year. These letters end up at a small archive called the Juliet Club, which is not as well publicized as the balcony, but still welcomes visitors. A group of volunteers answer the letters, with the help of crowdsourcing.
Through a doorway under a sign for The Juliet Club and up a flight of stairs, the Secretaries of Juliet work out of a room filled with boxes and boxes of letters, the vast majority of which are handwritten and sent via post. Secretaries respond on official Club di Giulietta stationery and sign off as “Secretary of Juliet.” Anyone can drop in for a day to read and reply to letters as Juliet’s Secretary. Upon arrival, you’ll be led to the workroom and given a box of letters in the language of your choice to sort through until you find one that you want to respond to.
Reading through these notes is a veritable portrait of love in the world. There are letters about school-girl crushes and heartbreaking divorces, long-lost loves, indecision about staying or leaving, pregnancy, marriage, death, and everything in between. The tradition of answering them began in the 1930s when the keeper of Juliet’s tomb began collecting the letters left by visitors, and felt so moved by some of then, he decided to start responding.
Read about the Juliet Club and how it works at Messy Nessy Chic.