Verona and the myth of Romeo and Juliet: love affair or merely affairs?

In late April 1989, Naples played Hellas Verona for the mid-Italian Football Championship. In response to racist insults from the opposing team, Neapolitan supporters silently unfurled a huge banner stating that one of William Shakespeare’s famous characters, Juliet, a figure closely associated with Verona, was a woman of easy virtue. Word of the banner quickly spread worldwide. People from across the world of soccer declared it to be one of the most brilliant and exhilarant banners in the history of football, highlighting the central role of the heroine in shaping Verona’s international image. Despite this, prior to the 1990s the romantic myth was not exploited as a tourist attraction since it diverged from Verona’s self-representation. Using documents from local archives, extensive interviews with key actors from the local tourism board and a variety of secondary literature, this article traces how the evolution of local socio-economic processes encouraged Veronese authorities to adopt a brand hitherto neglected: the ‘City of Love’. The shift redefined Verona’s identity while promoting its economy worldwide. Local authorities made the city a destination for ‘romantic pilgrimage’, raising this product from little more than a niche market to big business.