There are many legends of St. Valentine, but I'm going to tell you my favorite.
Saint Valentine was a priest in Rome during the rule of Emperor Claudius II. Rome was engaged in war on several fronts and Claudius was in the process of building his army, but to little success. He found that soldiers did not want to leave their wives and children, so the Emperor suspended all engagements and marriages in Rome. Valentine, however, was said to be a romantic at heart and continued to wed couples in secret. When the Emperor discovered Valentine’s disobedience, he had him brutally beaten and put to death on 14 February 270 AD. For his martyrdom, Valentine was named a Saint. During the Middle Ages, he became the most popular patron saint for love and lovers in England and France… so popular in fact, Pope Gelasius declaired February 14th as “Valentine’s Day”. Since then, this day has served as an occasion to celebrate love.
Well, I don’t know how much of this is historically accurate, but I like it all the same!
Valentine’s Day in Florence has been surprisingly fun. The city and its inhabitance seem to embrace the day and the customs are very much the same as ours at home. There is even an abundance of flowers and heart shaped chocolate. Restaurants have created special Valentine’s Day menus and couples were strolling (etc.) hand in hand through the piazza by our apartment.
To celebrate, the five of us cooked dinner and shamelessly took turns singing along with famous duet love songs. I would say the highlight was when we hit the soundtrack from “Moulin Rounge”. Afterwards, Becca and I went out to get gelato and sat in the Piazza Signoria at the feet of the colossal David. There was a small crowd of people gathered around a street performer who was singing and playing the guitar. He did songs in both English and Italian. Much to my amazement, he played “Wild World” by Mr. Big, probably one of my favorite songs from, um… middle school. Needless to say, I still love it to this day. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hiqhos1h5M8 The last song he sang was “Shameless” and it was probably the best of the night.
Lindsey
Great post, Lindsey! Doesn't every day seem like Valentine's Day when you are living in beautiful Firenze? At some point, I recommend you and your roomates see "The Spanish Apartment" together. It's about a group of study abroad students who share an apartment in Barcelona. I'm sure you will be able to draw many comparisons between the film and your own experience abroad :)
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