Juliet has a place in our hearts

An average of 10,000 people a year send letters to the Italian city of Verona, asking romantic advice of Shakespeare’s tragic teenage girl, the personification of young love, says Richard Fitzpatrick

You open a letter from USA, Japan, China or the Netherlands. They tell Juliet their most personal stories, problems and hopes

EVERY year, 10,000 people write letters about their love life to teenager Juliet, many of them addressed: “Juliet, Verona, Italy”. A month later, they receive a reply in the post, but not from Juliet. She died in the 13th century, a few centuries before William Shakespeare immortalised her in his play, Romeo and Juliet.