What to do on Valentine's Day? These are the most romantic Italian destinations

The Levante Riviera in Liguria is full of pearls to discover, from San Fruttuoso to the Cinque Terre, and from Sestri Levante to Portovenere. The best way to explore the area is to stay in Santa Margherita Ligure, between Rapallo and Portofino.

You can get there by train in an hour from Genoa, in three and a half hours from Turin and four hours from Milan. Choose a spa resort in a beautiful Art Nouveau building and treat yourself to a massage for two before a candlelit dinner. The next morning, enjoy a romantic stoll in Rapallo and end the day with sunset on Paraggi Bay.

The fortress overlooking the sea, the walkways alongs the walls and the wonder of the Catullo Caves: Sirmione is the perfect location for any love story. Not far away is Desenzano, with a splendid view of the lake from the fortified tower. Peschiera del Garda also has a fortress surrounded by water.

And if you're still short of romance, take a tour of Borghetto sul Mincio and stop in Valeggio to eat the tortellini, which are linked to a love story between a soldier and a nymph. You can get to Sirmione by train in under two hours from Milan and just over two hours from Venice.

The best and most romantic way to explore Lake Como is without doubt by boat. Don't miss out on a visit to Bellagio, the brightest jewel in the area, with its magnificent villas. Arrive in Varenna to stroll along the Lovers' Promenade and let yourself be captivated by the views of the lake from the alleyways of the village. Varenna is the perfect place to book a romantic weekend in a lakeview hotel and enjoy a dinner on the shore.
To reach Bellagio by train takes just an hour and a half from Como and just over two hours from Milan.

Can you imagine anything more romantic than the green hills of Umbria as the setting for your love? Valentine's Day will be unforgettable in a country hotel in Umbria, a short distance from the medieval village of Gubbio.

Stroll through the narrow cobbled streets and stop for an exquisite dinner of fettuccine, crescia and friccò, to satisfy your heart and stomach.
You can get there by train from Perugia in an hour, from Bologna in four hours and from Florence in five.

The place where the love between Paolo and Francesca, immortalised by Dante, blossomed is the ideal setting for celebrating Valentine's Day.

In Gradara, around the fortress, you can walk along the Lovers' Lane, a pathway suitable for everyone, which, in about 50 minutes, takes you through the town and a small forest to view the beautiful surrounding landscape. It's all done hand in hand, of course. When you arrive, you can re-energise by sharing a plate of 'tagliolini con la bomba'. You can get to Gradara by train in less than an hour from Rimini, in one and a half hours from Ancona and two and a half from Bologna.

With their thousand-year history, the Sassi of Matera are the perfect witness to an oath of love as durable as stone.

Book a room in a popular hotel where you can sleep in an old converted oil mill. Enjoy the wonder of sunset from the Murgia Timone viewpoint, with a splendid view of the Sassi. After dinner, enjoy a casual stroll through the alleyways, which, with the lights on, seem almost golden. You can get to Matera by train from Bari in an hour, and in five hours from Naples.

With its white houses and crooked alleyways, Locorotondo is a very popular town in the summer, but it can also be very romantic in the middle of winter.

It is one of the Most beautiful towns in Italy, full of picturesque views, bougainvillea in bloom all year round and panoramic scenery. Nothing better for declaring all the love you feel. From Bari it is two hours by train.

To spend the most romantic day of the year overlooking the sea, book a suite in a stage station on the banks of the Marsala salt lake.

At sunset, the salt pans reflect a thousand colours: it's the perfect time for an aperitif for two.  Continue celebrating your love with a dinner of local delicacies, such as Marsalese fish couscous. You can get there by train in an hour from Trapani and in two hours from Palermo.