Serenades, romantic dinners and SPA: fall in love on Valentine’s Day, in Rome

It is said if you feel true love, you love them all over the year; it is said celebrations are not necessary to give flowers or have dinner in a romantic place. Lovers should live their love as it was their first day together. But, obviously, Valentine’s Day is so famous, you can’t pretend it doesn’t exist. Not everybody share the same idea. There is the one not interested in celebrations, but also the one loving the celebration of anniversaries, as many couples in the world.

So Valentine’s Day can become an opportunity of getting out the daily routine and have a trip. Journeys are never banal, they introduce innovation, emotions and memories; they enforce feelings, because people are just a couple, just two people, far from home. But if Rome is the destination, so Valentine’s Day can get unforgettable and cancel any doubt about it festivity, even if you are nonconformist.
Well, you got in Rome, it is the 14th February. Preparing a surprise is always amazing. You decided not to limit your roses and you renounced to the trattoria near your house, because you are planning something special. How to give you an unforgettable day? What can a couple do on Valentine’s Day in Rome?

Dinner on a Tiber boat, Castel Sant’Angelo and Palazzaccio
If you loved the movie La grande bellezza, by Paolo Sorrentino, winner of the best foreign movie award, you surely remember the final scene, the sight of the Tiber, the camera softly moving under Garibaldi Bridge, discovering a wonderful view of the city.
It is exactly what you can experience by yourself, as you were protagonist of a movie, if you have dinner on one of the boats sailing on the golden Tiber. It is an itinerary travellers love, because it offers a completely unknown perspective of Rome: from the river. Many agencies plan tours, so you just have to choose your favourite one.
Departure is usually from Castel Sant’Angelo’s port. Emperor Adrian in decided to build the most famous mausoleum of Rome, in 35 AD. It was a big tomb should have been arisen on the Horti Domiziani area, to collect the emperor and its descendant rests.
It was designed by Demetriano, but Adriano didn’t live enough to see its conclusion. It was finally finished when Antonino Pio was emperor, four years later.

You will pass under Ponte Sant’Angelo, called Ponte Elio at the time that connects the sepulcher to Campo Marzio. You will suddenly find the Justice Palace on the left. The first stone of the building took place in 1888, designed by Calderini. It is neo-baroque, but the palace is just covered by travertine; it’s made of reinforced concrete, unusual at the time. The entrance is under a triumphal arch, under some sculptures representing Justice between Law and Force. There is an interesting fun fact about Palazzaccio, probably your guides will not tell you about it.
It was 1889 and during the building works, they found two marble sarcophaguses from the Tiber banks; they were very simple, but decorated by friezes representing the river water bringing souls in the afterlife. Inside the sarcophaguses, there were two people remains, probably from Marco Aurelio age: Crepereio Euhodo and Crepereia Tryphaena. In the latter sarcophagus, an18 years-old girl, technicians found something incredible. There was a personal object of the girl: a 23 centimetres tall ivory doll. It was almost in perfect conditions, you could still see her details, as her face and her hair.
It was a bobble-head doll, like the ones you can buy nowadays. The complexion was dark and the technicians wrongly thought it was made of wood, but it was made of ivory, darkened by the water. It touched all the people in the city.

A very ancient tradition: the Roman serenade
As well as you decide to have dinner on the boat or on the earth, you have to know your meal will be harmonized by music. Stornelli and sviolinate are the typical songs you listen to, there. If you have any preferences, you can ask the musicians to play your song.
If you prefer to follow your romantic soul, you can even ask for a serenade, some agencies can plan it for you. In some very popular districts in Rome, it is very usual to play them before the wedding day, by groups of musicians playing guitars and accordions, to give homage to the future wife.
The Roman song takes origins in 1893, by the song Affaccete Annunziata, sang also by Nino Manfredi. It is a serenade by a poem giving homage to the loved woman.

Relaxing in Rome
If you want to relax and cuddle yourself, taking care of your health and wellness, you can spend some time in a SPA. There are many accommodations offering a room, too. They are called SPA di coppia, they are for couples, to offer you your privacy. They offer hydro-massages for couples, emotional showers and aphrodisiac aperitifs. You can also have dinner in the hotel, by candle-light.
After you spent the night on a boat, among the beauties of Rome, you are ready to go back home. We suggest you an attraction for free, that will probably make your Valentine’s Day perfect. Choose among one of the following places: Trinità dei Monti, Gianicolo, Altare della Patria or Monte Mario. Hug your love and enjoy the sunset on the Seven Hills of Rome.