tv Doc Film Deutsche Welle February 15, 2020 11:02pm-11:31pm CET
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verona in northern italy. the city of love couples from all over the world block here to pledge their eternal love because verona is inextricably entwined with the tragic tale of the star crossed lovers romeo and juliet was more than 400 years after their story was written their legacy lives on every year thousands of letters are posted to shakespeare's heroine juliet and their authors get an answer love and death shakespeare's eternal themes that still resonate in verona and on how has it one morning there with their own it is undoubtedly a city full of history and monuments a beautiful city full of architectural a natural wonders. but it was above all shakespeare who helped make this city famous we are all
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a family that. when giovanni heads through the city it's almost always in the service of juliet. and fair verona there is only a fine line between reality and fantasy history and legend. and this dynamic city it's easy to imagine the tragedy of romeo and juliet caught on folded any moment all over again. not. here just in the not that old. the rona is
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simply beautiful i was born here and i've spent my whole life in verona a little interest i'm very connected to the place and actually. i think for one is so attractive to tourists because it reflects so much from so many areas from roman times to the middle ages to the renaissance and. maybe a few main. giovanna is juliet's chief secretary. sometimes she passes by romeo's house but generally doesn't stop because it's privately owned . today she's heading to the house of juliet casa de giulietta. if. it attracts thousands of visitors a day a place of pilgrimage for those who believe in or hope for love. like others without bowing on the house of juliet is the symbolic spot that gave rise to the
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legend whether it's a true story a legend or fiction is practically irrelevant because the legend of romeo and juliet truly lives on the feet of the evil. past does the hope of happiness. it's believed that touching the breast of juliet statue brings luck and love little to do this is one of all these rituals that are part of what we could call our collective craziness. but it's beautiful because it's about love and emotions so a little craziness is ok i've been going to forever. he's good this is. the crazy scenes in the house of juliet are all part of a day's work for giovanni. as is collecting juliet's mail.
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yeah something. so simple a time that is so we come here at least once a week to empty this mailbox and it's always full of video will never tell us a theme i know about a 2nd season of today they're on so many letters because the box was emptied yesterday our genomes. are going to know what that they gave to. this is serious business. every day the letters are answered each one by hand. the volunteers at the club to juliet or juliet club such as christine espanol o. are known as juliet's secretaries each letter is given thoughtful consideration.
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like this one. that i do get. i'm rushing to ask you for advice a person in my life is very close to my heart but i'm not sure he's happy with me and we've been together for 4 years but our lation ship is not going anywhere they should i look for a new love or try to find happiness in this relationship maybe it's not love any more. help me or you than me to. every day some 20 secretaries answer dozens of letters they come from all over the world. around $10000.00 letters a year are delivered to the juliet club some are addressed to simply to juliet in verona the mail carriers nowhere to bring them but juliet secretaries have a harder job they have to deal sensitively with the contents of the letters. i can grab more your money this writer is still young she has her entire life ahead of
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her so i advise her to be patient and believe in love i'm sure true love will come to her and she will find a fiance that i wouldn't have. missed it is a bit was that i got another letter that i read earlier is very long and i will have to think about it in peace and quiet. it's not always easy. you have to think carefully about your response to being. juliet secretaries work for free whenever they can carve out time from their daily lives. only giovanna tomasky of the club manager is almost always here. support also comes from volunteers visiting purana from around the world who take time during their vacations to help the love lorn. you know what i know that you
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have on a has been doing this for more than 30 years. she and the other secretaries share the same passion your career the winter no longer what i really believe in love. they got that i started you the story of romeo and juliet is very close to my heart . because i'm from corona. i see it as a privilege to help out at the club and answer the letters from loved ones and address their problems like i could but lemme. see young people waste makes me feel good. morning time to new york i feel good when i answer the letters sent to be in a quandary. and that continues after the end of their working day giovanna organizes many events reading us award ceremonies on the name of juliet. and
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christina who's a university student helps out when she can. there's always a lot to discuss. especially now as they're organizing an event to award the dear juliet prizes to the best letter writers of the past year. that's in addition to her own as writing for love prize which honors the best romantic novels. it. has devoted her career to ensuring that the story of romeo and juliet lives on. at home her daughter is waiting she's hungry though that she's had
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a long day at school. as they prepare supper there's time to unwind after their busy days. mom. mom. and giovanni a deal so much with love at the office it's only natural that it's a topic at home as well. because. if you talk so much about emotions and love something remains. on the start when you read all these love stories from all over the world you see that ultimately love is the same all over the world. that enriches you even though your everyday life might be different. and that's a good thing so. if.
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giovanna knows that she has taken on an unusual task. of. reading about other people's love lives and their problems affairs clandestine relationships separations is not always easy. but it could almost be called a family tradition. my father founded the club did you. mean that when i was around 20 he started doing it on behalf of the city of her own or when i. started off as a hobby for him. but it became a passion that the whole family shared. there right from the beginning it was a passion. he did in his free time to. and at some point he asked me to help him translate letters.
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that way. that was how the juliet club started. it since become something of a legend itself. countless helpers from around the world have volunteered their time as juliet secretaries. one of them is victoria menton. the hamburg native came to verona 6 months ago. as an au pair. since then she's been writing she's glad the city supports the club for example with the $10000.00 euros worth of postage stamps it uses every year. victoria also signs her answers with juliet. i need you to sing unsureness of here with us now it's really a very nice feeling to sign a letter with juliet's name. because you know that she was a wonderful woman
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a strong woman who gave everything for love for this difficult love and she would die for her love and give everything. it's beautiful. yeah. well that's what it was strange to not sign my own name to write you were as juliet . and you were yeah. but i got used to it and now i really really like it because all these people are writing to a good friend and they're juliet and they want to get an answer from juliet. victoria says that many of the letters can be quickly answered with advice or encouragement but sometimes there are letters that affect her deeply and are not easy to respond to. then she consults with the other secretaries. such letters can call for a degree of psychological insight. well
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enough so just because they are not going to have to be any different and i was very moved by the story of a woman who came from russia to italy for love. and had to where she got married and then found out that this man was cheating on her and had another girlfriend or wife and even a child. these are difficult situations. it's known as i'm not very old and haven't had these kinds of experiences luckily and hopefully never will mom and dad. don't present so all i can do is try to imagine myself in their situations. and then i answer. how often they don't even really need a solution to their problems but just a good friend who writes back and says everything will work out. romeo and juliet came from puting families in verona that actually existed
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implacable enemies their feud would do and their children. 2. what's known as juliet's tomb in the monastery of san fran cesco of course has been drawing tourists for more than 2 centuries. in the region for playing. in the 1930 s. this was the tourist attraction here just put out of there at the house of julie it hadn't been renovated yet so the tourists came here. to clean the john is that there are records of illustrious visitors from as long ago as the 18th and 19th centuries like good to who mention juliet's to money his famous italian journey for byron or dickens so when he died oh by. the king's. if i could do something anything bad check it out in the
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thirty's there was a custodian here today soleimani who on his own initiative started collecting the letters the visitors left on the surface. and he started answering the letters and signed them juliet secretary and i think with all. the 4 saves that no one knows of juliet is really buried here but the legend has been around for centuries that's a quote. these 3 women have just arrived in baroda and they're heading off to explore the town they've only just met for the 1st time one is from rome the 2nd from pisa and the 3rd is bosnian and lives in milan and. they have one thing in common each wrote a letter to juliet that was singled out by the club and they're here to pick up an award barbara today is proud to be a recipient of the right of the world but you know this is my 1st visit to her own
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us back i wrote my letter to juliet from home in the traditional way with pen and paper. you know now that i'm here in verona i'm quite excited it's funny a nice surprise on the b.b.c. was that. it was a surprise for alessandro to her better was more of a cry for help. was somewhat unpredictable but it was a very particular moment sometimes there are things you wouldn't even tell your best friends or other people who are close to you so you just you know if we can be successful in writing helps you to organize your thoughts you know you can see it and writing to someone who has experienced such a beautiful the tragic love story that you feel close to this girl you know it was you know i'm going to get a goddess. christine espanol o.
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is at home getting ready for the awards event where she's due to appear in the role of juliet. in the me the transformation starts when i do my hair. with my make 3 braids and pin them up. just that i think i only with his head when i'm juliet the transformation begins with the hey. christine a leads a double life of sorts as christina she's a normal student but she loves being juliet both as a club secretary and as the living figure juliet at the club special events.
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the 3 letter writers have arrived at the house of juliet and are somewhat taken aback by the attention. and. enter juliet when christina appears in the role everyone wants a photo with her. being in. the prize winners aren't the only ones captivated. with it's marvelous it's about them but i got such a collection of attractive women that i thought i only it's the women's turn and recently a lot of the prize winners have been men and he complained about that. pretty last year one letter handed what the word prisoner of his spirit i know what of course he was unlucky in love. me thinks my nothing. so the award ceremony the prize winning letters are read aloud. to the audience listen the spellbound for the eloquent accounts of romance tragedy longing
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and love started yet. juliet i am writing to you because i'm experiencing this crazy love that takes your breath away and drives you out of your mind i love to my limits and was loved in a way that can't be described in words i experience love that i've only known from novels but now this great love story is over and has left nothing behind but ruins . the excerpts from the letter written by the sandra from rome of course there's much more in the letter. the 3 prizes and the 3 proud prize winners. was that it was a very emotional experience a bit like being exposed in front of the audience but it was beautiful and odd that for yourself i'm proud that it was really beautiful i'm happy that life has brought
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me here and i'm proud of what i wrote. i was able to just please don't. leave are you dear juliet to juliet cher juliet carried. the letters that have been posted to verona for more than 75 years now all begin with the same words no matter what the language and he started it all with the play published in 1597. that in this post of shakespeare was put up about 20 years ago it was financed by the city administration. but the idea came from the club the juliet and my father's julio thomas you know who commissioned the very nice sculptor sergio. they wanted to thank the bard for the enormous gift he gave to the city of heroes.
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for the secretary's work at the club often entails dealing with visits from the media today there's a crew here from a talian television. love romance longing and the realization that these peelings are universal all over the world. kate and weary from kate a stereo just the right yes i live in london but i've wanted to do this for a couple years so school holidays for a week and i came up where have you the letters arrived in many different languages i read their authors a range in age from 14 to 70 and the secretaries always try to respond in the writer's language and as they search for the right words sometimes need to look no farther than their own experiences. are the same to me any more than 2 years ago i
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read some letters that described an unrequited love i recognized myself from those stories because back then i was in a similar situation more than the starting back then aha this girl is experiencing the same thing that i am i got. it was at once moving. yet strange to read about an experience that was also happening to me a bellows that i'm going to. look at all. i know. i think you know it's not my fault. for several decades giovanna has devoted herself to this heartfelt work. it's generated a huge amount of publicity for ana the setting of the world's most famous love
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story. it continues to cast its spell on giovanni to this day. i let's that they love more of it but it's only that their own is the city of love power excellence the story of romeo and juliet is known everywhere. idea because it is a few tourists who come here from all over the world say there's something very special about verona but there's a romantic atmosphere here. and that's all thanks to shakespeare who chose verona as the setting for romeo and juliet you've got a copy of it on a i pad how has love treated her. i do you know dear i'm in a pretty complicated relationship at the moment it's hard to talk about it.
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better rico had this well planned. for the mazy the wake of music i've been intending to ask for months. 70 we allow on valentine's day we've come here to this wonderful spot with a view of the entire city with election thought of us from her and today i want to propose. what the. popular object and i mean. this is my city and it's romeo and juliet our i mean this is just the most romantic city there is. romeo and juliet arguably the most famous pair of lovers at least in world literature. was their story invented or based on true events. ultimately who could say that it really matters.
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