Valentine’s Day is coming up on Wednesday
and no matter how you say it, romance is on the mind of lovers everywhere. Tributes
to the greatest of human emotions can be found in many places but the most
lovely I’ve seen are in the middle of an Italian lake or on a Côte d’Azur
hilltop. Here are five special testaments to the power of love.
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Invitation, Monaco |
1.
Paris, France
The Pont des Arts has become a Parisian
landmark where lovers secure a padlock marked with their names onto the
railings of the bridge and then toss the key into the churning waters of the
Seine. City officials began removing them when the weight of the locks began to endanger the
structural integrity of the railings but it seems that love conquers all – even
French bureaucracy – as more locks continue to appear on the “love locks bridge”
of Paris.
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Pont des Arts, the Love Locks Bridge of Paris |
The tradition has spread to other
sites around the world like the Accademia Bridge in Venice.
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Accademia Bridge, Venice |
2.
Isola Bella, Italy
This magical island in northern Italy was
created from barren rock by Vitaliano Borromeo VI for his beloved wife,
Isabella. The baroque palazzo is surrounded by the blue waters of
Lake Maggiore, in the shadow of the mighty Swiss Alps. Chinese white peacocks
roam a series of terraced gardens, and of course there’s a Garden of Love.
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Isola Bella, Lake Maggiore |
|
The Terraced Gardens of Isola Bella |
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Chinese White Peacock |
|
Garden of Love |
3.
Cap Ferrat, France
Not far away in neighbouring France is the
Temple of Love, perched on a hilltop overlooking the villa and gardens of
Baroness Béatrice Ephrussi de Rothschild. The folly gives shelter to Venus, the mythical Goddess of
Love.
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Temple of Love, Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild |
|
Venus, the Goddess of Love |
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Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild, Cap Ferrat |
4.
Lyme Regis, England
Love can sometimes be painful, as witnessed
by The French Lieutenant’s Woman in the novel by John Fowler. Sarah Woodruff
was often seen gazing out to sea from the Cobb in Lyme Regis, longing for the
return of her French lover.
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Lyme Regis, Dorset |
|
The Cobb |
5.
Verona, Italy
And sometimes love is tragic, as it was for
Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare’s fictitious star-crossed lovers still inspire
romantics today at Casa di Giulietta in Verona where visitors leave
messages to Juliet on a graffiti wall, wish for luck in love by rubbing her
statue’s right breast, and purchase love locks from the gift shop.
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Statue of Juliet, Verona |
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Graffiti Wall |
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Love Locks at Casa di Giulietta |
Happy Valentine’s Day!
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