Villa Ottelio Savorgnan

In Ariis di Rivignano Teor, on the banks of the river Stella, stands the small palace that is now Villa Otellio, a large building of enchanting beauty, enhanced by the deep red colour of the brickwork, which bears witness to the fact that it once belonged to the Savorgnan family in its coat of arms, a silver shield with a black escutcheon on the façade.

This heritage is the background to the story of Lucina Savorgnan and Luigi Da Porto, who, according to British professor Cecil Clough, are the true protagonists of Shakespeare's tragedy Romeo and Juliet.

Lucina and Luigi both belonged to the Savorgnan family, powerful lords of Udine. It was in the Savorgnan palace in Udine, during a carnival celebration in 1511, that the two young people met and fell in love, so much so that they secretly exchanged a promise of marriage. In fact, their respective families, feuding against each other, would never have accepted a relationship between them.
But destiny was not in favour of the young couple: a few months later, Luigi was seriously wounded in battle and became paralysed. Meanwhile, Lucina, for reasons of political and financial expediency, was forced to marry Francesco Savorgnan.  Luigi Da Porto, a man of arms but also of letters, decided to recount her sorrowful fate in the novella "Giulietta e Romeo", changing the names of the protagonists and places to disguise the autobiographical origin of his text.
The novella underwent several revisions, culminating in the final version written by W. Shakespeare, which we all know and love. However, this does not detract from the charm of this villa and the natural setting in which it is located, which is well worth a visit.


Love is a smoke raised with the fume of sighs; being purged, a fire sparkling in lover's eyes; being vexed, a sea raging with lover's tears; what is it else? A madness most discreet, a choking gall and a preserving sweet? (W. Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet)