Buon San Valentino!

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Domani è la festa di San Valentino and one of our students, la bellissima e simpaticissima  Norah, is holding open the page dedicated to Italy of a lovely pop-up book published in 2009: Everyone Says I Love You: A pop-up trip around the world, illustrated by Beegee Tolpa. ​Italian has two ways of saying I love you: "Ti amo", and "Ti voglio bene". For Saint Valentine's day, "Ti amo" is definitely the one to use. What is, however, the difference between the two? Here is how Italy Magazine explains the difference:

"The first interesting point is that Italians distinguish clearly between romantic passionate love and love for friends and families. Amore is a word exclusively dedicated to your lover and Ti amo  leaves no space for doubts or questions about one’s feelings. In a country where love and passion usually go hand in hand, the possessive Amore mio  (my love) is very common.

Ti voglio bene  (which we could translate with “I am fond of you”) is the appropriate expression to use with children, parents, friends and pets. But it is not unusual for lovers to say both as a way to express passion and care for each other."

Auguri a tutti gli innamorati!