Romeo's house looks like a country-style, crenellated castle, rather than a manor house.
At the end of 1200, Verona was the stage of the fighting between Guelfs and Ghibellines, as described by Dante Alighieri in his Purgatory, when mentioning Montecchi and Capuleti, the two rival families of Shakespeare's tragedy.
The "swallow-tailed" crenellation, typical of Ghibelline constructions, tells the story of a period during which high walls were built to protect the city. In 3120, the Montecchi family from Verona was banned from the city by the Scaliger and fled to Udine, after Crescimbene Montecchi had participated in a conspiracy against Cangrande della Scala. This event recalls Romeo's exile in the legend.
Today it is a private building, so the inner courtyard can not be visited, but it houses the Osteria al Duca.