NICK BOULOS discovers his romantic side in the beautiful Verona, Italy which provided inspiration for Romeo & Juliet

I COULDN'T help myself. I don't make a habit of reading other people's correspondence but on this occasion I couldn't resist.

Wandering through the ivy-covered courtyard of Juliet's house in the heart of Verona, Italy I mused over thousands of heartfelt notes pinned on a wall.

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In the place where the heroine called out to Romeo from her balcony, women from all over the world send her notes asking for advice. "Send my love back to me, so I can breathe my last breath with him, " read one.

Whether these women expect a reply from their literary agony aunt I have no idea but they get one.

A group of seven volunteers, known as the Secretaries of Juliet, write personal replies to these love-struck souls in eight different languages.

It's a tradition that has come to the attention of Hollywood scriptwriters and now appears in the film, Letters To Juliet, released on Wednesday. While Vanessa Redgrave and Amanda Seyfried feature, there's really only one star in this movie: Verona.

Historical, beautiful and utterly romantic, this northern city offers the best of Italy in a neat little package. Back in the intimate courtyard, couples gazed lovingly into each other's eyes while singletons pondered life on Juliet's Gothic balcony. In one corner stands a life-sized bronze statue of the young Capulet.

"It's tradition to rub her right breast for luck, " explained my guide, Marina. "It was started by one of the first tour guides.

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Probably a man, " she quipped.

The rickety 13th-century house, once home to the Cappello family of spice merchants, became the property of the city in 1907 and is now a museum.

Inside, computers have catapulted Juliet into the 21st century. She's now on email and visitors hunch over keyboards tapping away eagerly. It is the past that I found most intriguing, though. Contrary to popular belief, the tale was not written by Shakespeare.

Instead, it was Luigi Da Porto, a count from Vicenza, who put pen to paper in 1530 and based the tale loosely on his own life. In 1562 it was translated into English by poet Arthur Brooke, which paved the way for the Bard's version.

Romance, I later discovered, was everywhere in Verona. Couples smooched in quiet corners, grooms led their beaming brides across cobbled piazzas as church bells rang loudly and lampposts were adorned with padlocks engraved with names in a sign of eternal love.

Continuing our stroll around this most walkable of cities, Marina and I followed the snaking Adige River for views of the medieval towers, elegant stone-arched bridges and the imposing redbrick fortress of Castelvecchio, with its swallowtail battlements and large clocktower.

TAKING pride of place in Piazza Bra, Verona's biggest square overflowing with cafés, is the Roman Arena. Much like the Colosseum in Rome, this first century amphitheatre also played host to brutal gladiator fights and the similarities don't end there.

Like its counterpart, much of the outer wall is no longer standing, having been destroyed in an earthquake in 1117. Today, it provides a spectacular open-air setting for the city's famed opera performances.

Verona was one of the Roman Empire's most important cities thanks to its location on trade routes between Europe and the Mediterranean. It was once protected from invaders by formidable medieval walls.

The next day, I savoured the views from the 83m-high Lamberti Tower, from where Verona becomes a sea of terracotta rooftops. Far below in the Romanesque Piazza delle Erbe, the market was in full swing. Locals browsed for herbs and spices while visitors bought souvenirs.

Back at ground level, the sweet smell of fresh fruit lingered around the gleaming Madonna Verona fountain and the baroque Palazzo Maffei, with its sculptures of gods such as Jupiter and Apollo.

Walking back to my hotel, I passed under Portoni della Bra, another of Verona's great stone gates and noticed a quote from Shakespeare carved on the sturdy pillar. "There is no world without Verona's walls but purgatory, torture, hell itself, " it read. A tad extreme, perhaps but maybe the Bard had a point.

GETTING THERE:
Inghams (0208 780 4454/www.inghams.co.uk) offers three nights at the four-star Firenze Hotel from £241pp (two sharing), B&B.

Price includes return flights from London Gatwick.

Italian State Tourist Board: 020 7408 1254/www.italiantouristboard.co.uk