Holy year ?

[Rosina Lila]

Hello,
Matteo Bandello, a Dominican priest (1480-1562)      from Tortona became the
most popular "novelliere" from Italy in Europe.
214 of his stories were published first at Lucca in 1554 and later, in 1573,
at Lyon, in French and London, in English.  Many of the stories were
dramatized and put on the stage by French and English playwrights including
Shakespeare.
One of the most popular, and enduring, was the romance of Romeo Montecchio
and Giuletta  Capelletti.  In  the preface background of the novel Bandello
writes that young Romeo was so named because "he had made the pilgrimage to Rome
and had become entitled to the name".
It might be added that Bandello's original climax of the famous tale is
subtler than Shakespeare's: instead of  Romeo dying before Juliet emerges from her
drug-induced coma, she awakes before Romeo falls victim to the effects of the
poison he has taken.  Romeo is so joyful that he forgets all about the poison
and the young lovers, again,  experience delirious love joy before Romeo dies
and Juliet, thereupon ,stabs herself  with his sword.
*****Some Literary detectives hold that Shakespeare took the story from
Arthur Brooke's "Tragicl History of Romeus and Juliet" which was published in
England in 1562, and which was a condensed translation of Bandello's work.  Other
literary snoops claim that Shakespeare took the story from from William
Painter's "Palace of Pleasure", which was published in London in 1566, and which gave
full credit to Bandello for the tragic story of the "star-crossed lovers".
(I know that this is somewhat off-topic in a Caiman LISTSERV, but someone
asked about an earlier reference to Rome pilgrims being called "Romeos" in
medieval times).