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The Romeo and Juliet Saga Can Be Traced to La Giulietta
A real-life love story that may have inspired William Shakespeare
I am yet to come across someone who hasn’t read Romeo and Juliet, or, for that matter, watched one of this eternal classic’s many cinematic adaptations. I have done both. Baz Luhrmann’s award-winning Romeo + Juliet, released in 1996, is the first instance of me watching a movie featuring the then-newcomer and now globally famous actor Leonardo DiCaprio.
Being a positive person, I am not particularly enthused about a saga of star-crossed lovers who succumb to cruel fate. As such, Romeo and Juliet is not among my favorites, and I have always believed the Bard of Avon has come up with many other better offerings. I didn’t let a personal opinion come in the way of an opportunity to trace the possible origin of the legendary play.
I was aware beforehand that it is a real-life love story that possibly inspired the classic romantic tragedy by the legendary English playwright. However, a chance meeting with an academic in a city he has spent his entire life in encouraged me to attempt to trace the origin story at Udine, a place where it all began.
