The traditional Maltese balcony is a wooden closed balcony projecting from a wall. Alternatively, Juliet balconies named after Shakespeare's Juliet who famously courted Romeo from her balcony do not protrude out of the building. They are usually part of an upper floor, narrow in depth and with a balustrade only at the front. Various balcony types have been used in depicting the fictional lovers' scene and the famous one at the Verona villa is not a Juliet balcony in the true design sense.
Juliet balconies surround French or double doors and allow them to be opened inwards for increased light and ventilation, while preventing the occupants from falling out. Effectively acting as a restraint, they are not regarded as true balconies because they have no platform to stand on. However, Juliet balconies remain as popular now as they were several centuries ago and are a very effective way of adding an outdoor feel to an indoor space.
In the medieval and Renaissance periods, external balconies were supported by corbels made out of successive courses of stonework, or by large wooden or stone brackets.
From the 19th century, commonly-used supports include cast iron, reinforced concrete and other materials. In the UK, Juliet balconies date back to the late Georgian period when they were specified by architects to give grand homes a prestigious appearance.
Originally produced in decorative styles of wrought iron, they were rectangular, shallow and spanned the width of drawing. By the early 19th century, cast iron railings were growing in popularity with fashion dictating the inclusion of classical motifs to replace the spearheaded finials of earlier times. As designs became more intricate, they were more widely seen across cities and towns such as London, Bath and Cheltenham. In the Regency period, the mass production and lower cost of cast iron led to its widespread use in highly decorative Juliet balconies incorporating details such as urns and acorns.
Many typical townhouses of the era had full length sash windows that could be opened fully with cast iron Juliet balconies providing the necessary safety. Ironwork continued to be used for Victorian properties with first-floor balconies in front of the increasingly-popular French windows. Recognition of the benefits of natural light led architects to seek new ways of enhancing daylight in a home.
At the same time, better glassmaking techniques enabled the production of larger, stronger and cheaper panes of glass with fewer glazing bars for use in French windows. This was a boom time for balconies. The Victorians also took inspiration from Europe to develop their unique version of Juliet balconies - again using ironwork to great decorative effect.
Shakespeare wasn't studied in schools, and print copies of the play remained relatively rare—and expensive. The current perception of Shakespeare, particularly Romeo and Juliet, as ubiquitous cultural capital is the product of efforts that only began in the middle of the 18th century undertaken in no small part by actor, producer, theater manager, and Shakespeare adaptor David Garrick , as much as an act of self-promotion as anything else.
And, as it turns out, the seemingly quintessential Romeo and Juliet scene should actually be attributed to Otway, who explicitly staged his version of the exchange between the lovers with Lavinia "in the balcony" while Romeo responds from the garden below. Spranger Barry, who initially played Romeo in Garrick's production, left Drury Lane and joined the rival Covent Garden theater, where he starred in a competing Romeo and Juliet , immortalized in a popular etching establishing the visual iconography of the "balcony scene.
The Internet offers countless examples in which toddlers, cats, dogs, Lego figures, and even pieces of fruit "act out" the balcony scene. The half million visitors who flock to Verona each year can even act it out for themselves on a pseudo-balcony that was constructed by adding an old sarcophagus to the exterior of a building dubiously christened "Casa di Giulietta" in the early 20th century, specifically to satisfy the hordes of tourists seeking an authentic Romeo and Juliet experience.
I'm not suggesting audiences should condemn the cultural process of adaptation, appropriation, and revision that created the cult of the balcony. In fact, I myself am a flagrant Shakespeare adaptor. The reason I re-read Romeo and Juliet a couple of years ago, and first noticed the lack of a balcony, is that I was writing my novel Juliet's Nurse.
The story imagines the 14 years leading up to the events in the play, as told by one of Shakespeare's most memorable "minor" characters. As a novelist, I confronted what actors and directors have long known: Adaptation is not a violation of some unalterable essence of Shakespeare's oeuvre—it's integral to our experience of his work. Every performance of a play involves countless acts of interpretation and revision.
The same performer may not deliver a speech precisely the same way from one night to the next. Choosing how to stage a scene—particularly when it comes to Shakespeare, who wrote few explicit stage directions—requires choices well beyond what is in the text.
Because Shakespeare's plays initially were performed without being published, it's safe to assume that the versions we have differ from what he originally wrote. Indeed, companies performing a Shakespeare play today must decide which of the numerous "authoritative" yet contradictory versions to use. Even then, directors frequently choose to alter or omit some passages for their specific production. Any of these interpretations might reveal something about the immediate context in which it was created.
On the walls some 16th century frescoes and a collection of antique prints with the theme "Romeo and Juliet". On the first floor of the tower, in a more intimate space, is the "bedroom". Here was placed the bed used in the movie "Romeo and Juliet" by Italian director Franco Zeffirelli, one of the most famous versions of the story. It is the work of Veronese carpenters.
It is prepared with sheets and pillows, as if Juliet has to lie there in a moment. In the same room, inside showcases, there are the original costumes worn by the actors who played Romeo and Juliet in the movie: Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting.
You'll find more rooms on the upper floors of the tower. In one there is a mailbox where you can post letters for Juliet and keyboards where you can write her an email. On the top floor there is the attic from which you can enjoy suggestive views of Verona from above.
Inside some showcases there are collections of ceramics and tableware from the period. Juliet's house is open to the public and is among the most visited monuments of Verona. Periodically it hosts events and temporary exhibitions.
Some rooms are used to celebrate weddings with civil ceremony. The walls of the entrance corridor to the courtyard of Juliet's house used to be at the disposal of those who wanted to write a dedication to their loved one or a romantic message. There were so many graffiti on the "wall of love" that it was necessary to renew its surface several times a year. Unfortunately, there were also many acts of incivility and vandalism. After one last cleaning and restoration it was definitely forbidden to write on the wall.
Find out more. Juliet's house is a fundamental stop during a Romeo and Juliet's guided tour of Verona. The passage leads to a courtyard featuring the famous balcony, proudly erected on the facade of a fourteenth century building. How many, upon seeing this small balcony, cannot fathom the romantic dialogue between the two lovers in the moonlight?
To tell the truth though, the balcony is a fake! In the early twentieth century important work was carried out to prevent the river from flooding. Some medieval houses that prevented the construction of new dams had to be demolished.
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