First Wedding Celebrated in Juliet's House in Verona

ROME, June 1, 2009 -- Luca Ceccarelli, and his 24-year-old bride Irene Lanforti, were the first couple to proclaim vows of eternal love on the world's most romantic of balconies in the small palace in the center of Verona, reputed to be the site where Shakespeare's famous lovers Romeo and Juliet wooed one another some centuries ago.

Verona is the fourth-most-visited town in Italy due to its connection with the famous love story and the city has decided to take advantage of its ties to the star-crossed lovers to draw more wedding tourism to this northern Italian town by launching a "Marry me in Verona" project. So far the city has had over 140 requests to tie the knot in one of the four sites made available for civil weddings, but the most popular venue by far is the site believed to be the home of Juliet's family, the Capulets.

Popular belief links Shakespeare's fictional characters in one of his most famous plays with the downtown building at 23 Via Cappello, which was owned by Verona's noble Del Cappello family since around the 13th century. Even though historians claim that there is scant evidence that this house is connected to Juliet Capulet's family, and the windows, gothic-style doorway and famous balcony were added to the interior facade in the 1930's, the building is now known around the world as Juliet's house.

"It's an especially romantic place for a special moment," said Roberto Bolis, the city's spokesman. "So far we have had the most interest coming from couples outside of Italy; from those Anglo-Saxon countries more familiar with Shakespeare but we have been contacted by a Japanese man wanting to marry a Scottish woman...who knows, maybe they just want to meet midway?"

The next wedding to be celebrated at Juliet's house will be Friday when two Americans, David Malek from Nashville, Tenn., and Valery Frescos, from Raleigh, N.C., are scheduled to wed. Since the project's launch in March, the majority of requests have come from couples in the United States.