Danielle Mitzman

If you were in the north Italian city of Bologna last weekend, you’d have been in for an unusual cultural treat. The resonant chimes of the church bells were temporarily replaced by the sharp trills of bicycle bells as scores of poetry lovers cycled through the streets and piazzas of the historic town centre, bringing poems written by poets from all over the world to…well, anyone who fancied listening.

Now in its second year, Poetandem invites everyone to get on their bikes and spread the poetic word to unsuspecting passers-by, as I discovered.

First broadcast on The Strand, BBC World Service, 26th July 2010.

Shakespeare turned Romeo and Juliet into the most famous teenage couple in history. Their hometown, the Italian city of Verona, has long been a place of pilgrimage for lovesick tourists from all over the world. Now an American movie has pulled the city back into the romantic spotlight.

“Letters to Juliet” was inspired by a book of the same title written by sisters Lise and Ceil Friedman. It documents the history of a unique tradition in Verona which began back in the 1930s, when visitors to Juliet’s tomb started leaving letters addressed to her. The tomb’s guardian began to reply to the letters, signing himself off as “Juliet’s secretary” and the tradition has continued ever since.

Today people leave notes at Juliet’s house and even write to her by post. But she receives so much mail that she now has a whole group of secretaries who reply on her behalf. They are members of the Club di Giulietta or Juliet Club, which promotes the legend of the star-crossed lovers as well as answering the thousands of letters that pour into the city each year.

(first broadcast on Outlook, BBC World Service, 1st June, 2010)

The film “Letters to Juliet” has just come out in America and is soon to be on general release in most countries throughout Europe. Starring Vanessa Redgrave and Amanda Seyfried, it’s a romantic comedy set in the north Italian city of Verona. Famous as the setting for Shakespeare’s best loved tragedy, Romeo and Juliet, the plot centres around the curious tradition of writing letters for advice to the tragic heroine and the even more curious Veronese tradition of replying to them.

I’ve been discovering the story behind the story.

(first broadcast on Arts on the Air, Deutsche Welle Radio, 19th May, 2010)