Romeo’s place of exile after his banishment in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is Mantua.
After Romeo kills Tybalt in a street fight, Prince Escalus spares his life but banishes him from Verona. Romeo first takes refuge with Friar Laurence, who tells him that Mantua is the safest place for him to go.
In Mantua, Romeo learns from Balthasar that Juliet has apparently died. Because Friar John’s message never reaches him, Romeo believes the report and decides to return to Verona. He obtains poison from a poor apothecary and travels to Juliet’s tomb.
Mantua is an actual Italian city in Lombardy, not an invented location. Shakespeare’s play uses Verona and Mantua as contrasting settings: Verona contains the family feud, while Mantua represents Romeo’s forced separation and temporary exile. The distance between the cities makes communication difficult and helps the failed message become dramatically decisive.