Scholars have long criticised the plays as being flawed in their geographic and cultural details. However, research from America claims that the author of 13 plays set in Italy, including Romeo and Juliet, had an intimate knowledge of the geography, politics, people and customs of the country, which could not have been picked up secondhand from books or tavern gossip.

After decades of research, Richard Roe, a retired lawyer and Shakespeare scholar from Pasadena, California, has concluded that everything is “accurate and true”. For example, scholars found fault with characters in The Two Gentlemen of Verona journeying by water from inland Verona to Milan. But Mr Roe has identified canals that no longer exist but once enabled ships to travel along them.

Mr Roe will present his findings tonight at the Globe Theatre in London.

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