In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Romeo finds the apothecary in Mantua and buys poison there.
Romeo has been banished from Verona after killing Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin, in a duel. He takes refuge in Mantua, where he learns from Balthasar that Juliet has apparently died. Romeo then decides to return to Verona and die beside her in the Capulet tomb.
Before leaving Mantua, Romeo visits a poor apothecary. Because the apothecary is suffering financially, Romeo persuades him to sell a poison that is legally forbidden. Romeo pays him gold and warns that the apothecary’s poverty, rather than his will, has made him break the law.
Mantua is sometimes confused with Verona because both cities are central to the play’s Italian setting. Verona is the main location, while Mantua is where Romeo spends his exile and obtains the poison.