In the 1996 film Romeo + Juliet, the modernized setting is called Verona Beach.
Directed by Baz Luhrmann, the film transfers Shakespeare’s story into a stylized contemporary environment while retaining the original dialogue. Verona Beach is presented as a fictional American city shaped by rival business families, television news, guns, and urban violence.
The name preserves the play’s connection to Verona while signaling that this is not a literal period adaptation. The Montagues and Capulets become opposing corporate dynasties, and swords are replaced by firearms branded “Sword” in the film’s visual world. Religious and civic imagery also remains prominent.
Viewers sometimes describe the film simply as being set in Verona, but “Verona Beach” is the specific modern setting used by the adaptation. The title’s plus sign and the setting’s contemporary design distinguish this film from Franco Zeffirelli’s 1968 period version.