Since the days of Chaucer and the Elizabethans there were verses, trinkets and love tokens exchanged on this day. Hand painted with birds, flowers and hearts, the products of an elegant society and education, these valentines were made in limited numbers. A vintage Valentine would be lst choice for women who love antiques .
2nd choice -For the adventurous traveling woman, a visit to Terni, (100 kms. from Rome) where St. Valentine was bishop and died a martyr in 273. Hundreds of couples visit the tomb of the patron saint of lovers at the Basilica just outside town on this day. Stop to see the romantic Marmore waterfalls nearby, created by the Romans in the 2nd century B.C.
On the way to Terni, stop for a romantic weekend at the Castello di Proceno perched on a hilltop near the border between Lazio and Tuscany.
3rd choice - If you are in Rome, make a visit to view the sensuous sculptures of Canova and Bernini at the Borghese Gallery. Drop in the gallery's restaurant afterwards for tea and, to remember the day, purchase a souvenir from the well stocked bookshop.
once home to Paolina , Napoleon’s favorite sister
Bernini's sensuous Apollo and Daphne
Have the room to yourselves, at lunchtime in February
Roman statue from the Louvre
Paolina Bonaparte-Borghese as Venus, Canova's masterpiece
4th choice – have some chocolates on hand. Belgian chocolates with fresh cream are the best but easily spoil. Here in Vetralla, a short walk from my painted palazzo, we have a fantastic local chocolate factory, Mary Frau, who I will interview next week along with a few other wonderful women master chocolate makers.
Erotic Etruscan chocolate can be found hidden behind a discreet red curtain in a central pastry shop in Viterbo.
5th choice-Learn a love poem to recite on the day like this sonnet by Dante.
Book of Dante's love sonnets, 1921
Illustrated by Dante Gabriele Rossetti
Most women would be perfectly happy with one of these surprises, two or three would be preferable. Let us know your ideas for special places to spend Valentine's Day where you live.