Trip to Italy: Verona Day 2, Casa di Giulietta

 

Verona - 20 February, 2025

 I went to Verona with one goal to see the Giulietta House. I quickly wanted to check in about swimming options at the information desk at the opposite end of town hoping I would warm up a little. The lady recommended two pools but wasn’t really sure if they were good or open. However, I saw that there were combined tickets for sights so I took the chance and asked for one that gives me entrance to 4 museums of a choice of 10. That is how my plans altered: half a day for Verona/Vicenze, Padua/Vicenze. I walked to the train station and caught the next train to Verona Puorta Nova.

Verona had a stunning structure with an enormous gate and a long, wide avenue leading the way into another remarkable gate. This second gate opened up into a spatious square and an amphitheater - dating back to the 1st century - which revealed the tiny streets and a multitude of sights behind it. 

The Casa di Giulietta was quite exceptional, I remembered only when I arrived that I had seen it before in an American movie. However, I had no idea that women were actually writing letters to Juliet up to this day placing or rather sticking them onto the wall next to the postbox. The whirling crowd made it somewhat less enjoyable but it didn't keep me from standing in amazement before the statue, under the balcony and the exposed historical descriptions. Yet I was really moved when I went back to read some of the notes that were readable and at my eye level. Suddenly, I felt the urge to leave before getting to dragged in by my emotions. I can't even tell you one specific thing that I felt because there were dozens of emotions rushing to the surface that I just wasn't ready to deal with at that moment.  

I kept rambling on the streets towards Romeo’s House and found an amazing courtyard on the way. Literally, no matter where I turned, I saw an extraordinary church, monument or building. You could not pick a wrong way. Much of the sights were so abandoned that I could take some pictures with not a single person, tourist or local, in it. I let myself redefine what sightseeing means by going at my own pace and checking whatever I found interesting or intriguing. Still not there, I would like to give myself more time to figure out how I truly like to discover a foreign city. For instance, I never once sat down to write my diary and did manage to walk until my feet went completely numb. Yet, I didn't mind since the beauty of Verona just took over my soul and kept me from stopping. 

I crossed over Pedro’s renovated bridge as I ended my visit with a walk on the rivershore and sat down for a quick lunch at a Poke Restaurant. That's when it happened. Suddenly, my original goal struck me. I knew why I came and it became obvious that I couldn’t run away from it. This trip also proved me wrong if I thought I could. Once again, my greatest fear shook me up and fell on my silently, making me feel inadequate – when I realized that this trip had already helped. Even if it didn’t resolve my issue, it did one thing: I could take it out of its case, enlarge it, turn it around and put it back in. I feel different about it.
I cannot let myself be stigmatized because of what I am at the present moment. I cannot shed any more tears, that is, I can but I have already and it is time to change. I don’t want to live the next 5 years of my life in constant pain and anxiety. I wanna take me as I am right now and feel full even if this is not what I defined full 5 years ago. I am done with looking back in pain and living every single present moment like it was the worst only because I could not and still cannot fit an image I created for myself. It is time to live what we have.

Once I got back to Vicenza, I made it to the Museo Diocesano at 4 pm before it closed at 5pm spending almost a full hour in it – unexpected it came but I really enjoyed it. You could also leaf through the pages of a Medieval Latin missal book. Finally, I got the chance to visit the Palladian Basilica, which at the moment hosts the event Three Masterpieces in Vicenza bringing together artworks by Leonardo da Vinci, Jacopo Bassano, Gianandrea Gazzola. I stepped into an enormous dark space from outside finding two large canvases stretched all the way to the ceiling and displaying water on them. I passed by it to see a large canvas with nothing but a quote on it in Italian, I could not understand. But neither wanted to. This surrounding felt so calming that I thought was the perfect ending to a long day. It is inexplicable why acceptance filtered through this exhibition. 

Giuseppe the owner was gathering the male parties of his apartment to find out to whom the wet male underwear from the shower belonged to. Bangladesh leaning against our shared wall, was too thin and the Argentinian denied it. After this scene, my door could not be locked. I asked Giuseppe to fix it, which he did with a simple shoulder kick to the perfectly unstable wall. It only got moved because Bangladesh with all his 49kg of weight leaned against it. So much about the accommodation. One more day to survive…