In Romeo and Juliet, the play is set mainly in Verona, Italy.
Verona provides the streets, homes, and public spaces where the feud between the Montagues and Capulets unfolds. The city’s Prince Escalus tries to control the violence, while the Capulet ball, Juliet’s garden, Friar Laurence’s cell, and the family tomb all anchor major scenes in or around Verona.
Romeo is banished from Verona after killing Tybalt, which creates the play’s main change of setting. He travels to Mantua, another Italian city, where he learns of Juliet’s supposed death and buys the poison that leads to the final tragedy. Mantua is important, but it is not the play’s principal setting.
The Verona setting comes from earlier Italian versions of the lovers’ story, especially Luigi da Porto’s 16th-century narrative. Shakespeare’s play helped make Verona an enduring symbol of romantic tragedy, even though the story is literary rather than a documented historical account.