Happy St. Valentine's Day

Valentine's getaway in a Castle 

San Valentino  is one of the patron saints of Viterbo  who was a lst century AD  bishop in  Terni, just across the Tiber in nearby Umbria.
 About  40 years ago, on this day,  I  was able to visit  the catacombs  dedicated  to San  Valentino  along with a group of experts from  the Pontifical Archeological Commission in charge of martyrs.  I remember a spooky, dark catacombs and the fact  that  I was the only young woman  in a group of  elderly, priest types.
  We were there for  a mass said in  honor  of the saint and martyr as if  he had just recently  died.

antique Valentines card

This year San Valentino  sent some magnificent  heart-colored   sunsets  to brighten our  Etruscan sky  and the local bakery  was overflowing  with  heart shaped  torte.

A group  of  about  30-40  international ladies  were present  for the St. Valentine's Coffee Morning  sponsored  by  the   Welcome Neighbor  Club in Olgiata,  an exclusive  residential quarter  on the northern fringe of Rome.

Club organizer,  Paula Treu,  and  I  traded  copies of our new books  which we  then  presented  to club members.   Paula's book "I ragazzi del Monticchio"   tells the story of  a group of adolescents growing up in the Olgiata-Cassia area and is written in Italian.
 My book "Etruria", which  contains  travel and history essays as well as itineraries   to prove  that  "there is civilization beyond Olgiata"  was sold out!
 Grazie  ladies !  It is so important  for a writer  to actually meet  her readers.  Let me know  how you liked  the book.  You  can leave your comments and reviews  here.

Reviews, preface and contents are at  my website.  and  signed copies  can be ordered directly  from me. Just drop me an email  at macryan@alice.it .  Postage to Italian addresses is free.
 Copies   in e-book format  to download on your Kindle  can  be ordered from  my publishers .