From now on, Juliet’s secretaries will answer letters on recycled paper and FSC-certified envelopes, produced from responsibly managed sources. This is the “green” initiative born from the synergy between the Club di Giulietta, Nicolis Museum and Lamacart, which has already provided five thousand sheets and as many sustainable envelopes.
In the age of smartphones, paper and ink are still the preferred choice when one feels the need to entrust one’s thoughts to a mythical figure such as Shakespeare’s heroine. To date, more than ten thousand letters are deposited in Juliet’s box every year. And while the aim remains to preserve the tradition of correspondence, a step forward in terms of eco-sustainability has become indispensable.
Vicolo Santa Cecilia 9, Verona. This is Juliet’s address, which every year receives thousands of letters from all over the world. They entrust the beloved Veronese icon with their love stories, some tormented, others full of pain, others full of hope and joy. But these are not letters to be left unanswered. In fact, there is an association, Club di Giulietta, which, thanks to its volunteers, takes care of replying to broken hearts.
Letters to Juliet is indeed a growing phenomenon. And it predates the film Letters to Juliet. The story of this evocative correspondence began in 1930, when Ettore Solimani, the keeper of Juliet’s tomb, began to collect the first messages from tourists. They spontaneously confided their feelings to the Shakespearean heroine without any indication. Moved by this phenomenon, Solimani began to answer the letters, thus becoming Juliet’s first “secretary”. A few years later, in 1972, Giulio Tamassia and a group of artists and intellectuals passionate about the great Shakespeare founded the Juliet Club.
Giovanna Tamassia, daughter of the founder, commented on the decision to use green paper: “Our interlocutors all over the world will receive Juliet’s letter written on environmentally sustainable paper: our message will thus also be a declaration of love to the planet“.
