LOVE STORIES by Questa Dolce Vita: Faith and Valerio

I know it's late but better late than never right? First off, wishing all of you a wonderful start to this new year and hoping it'll be overfilling with love and happiness. If you need a few extra drops of those, you've certainly stumbled on the right place today. Let me just assure you, this one has all our favorite classics including an American abroad, a hot TUSCAN summer night, a crowded piazza, and a winking Italian. IT ALSO INCLUDES talking all night until the wee hours and the most awww-worthy wake-up call. Faith is a Maryland-native that stumbled upon the world's sweetest Italian in Arezzo, Italy while attending graduate school in the Tuscan city. Clichés fell into the place as they always do and Valerio stole her heart by being a normal Italian boy (read: handsome, charming, stylish, romantic, affectionate, and the list goes on!). Read on lovers. 

​Where are you from and where is your significant other from? 
I’m from Maryland in the United States and my boyfriend Valerio is from Arezzo, in Tuscany, Italy. I came to Italy about 2 years ago to go to graduate school in Arezzo, and met Valerio after I had been there for a year. 

Where and when did you meet your significant other? 
I met him in a crowded piazza on a hot summer night (classic). I was out with friends (also American students) and some of them had met Valerio already so they introduced us. He was asking what I was doing here in Italy, and I told him I was studying theatre. When he shook my hand he said to me in Italian, “I can tell that you’re an actress,” and then throughout the rest of the conversation he kept winking at me. What a flirt. By the end of just five minutes, I thought, “Okay, this is going to be something.” 

Curator's Note:  thank you so much for setting this scene, I think there's nothing I love more than a hot Italian pizza on a crowded summer's night. PIAZZA I MEAN. PIAZZA, not pizza. A CROWDED PIAZZA ON A HOT SUMMER'S NIGHT. But also pizza. 

Who made the first move? 
He did! As a group we walked from the piazza to a block party in celebration of the joust (I totally feel like I’m living in medieval times sometimes) and we hung back to walk together alone. I remember he stopped at a little prayer shrine to Mary and said, “Oh Santa Maria, please help me teach this girl Italian!” Then we walked to a little park and sat and talked for hours, and that was where he first kissed me! The next morning he texted me “Buongiorno!” and I saw him again that next night, and every single night after that. 

Curator's Note:  the best lines in this whole thing are clearly "we walked from the piazza to a block party in celebration of the joust".  I doubt I'll ever read anything more #LivingInItaly as long as I live. 

What was your first impression of him?
My first impression was that he was handsome and very charming, but I could also tell instantly that we had chemistry and that he was as drawn to me as I was to him. I also noticed what a good dresser he was, and in general really put together. Being an American I wasn’t so accustomed to men being better dressed than I am! Then, as the days progressed, I was pretty blown away by how affectionate and romantic he was, physically and verbally, and how forthcoming open he was with his romantic side. I remember the first night he spent the night at my apartment, his phone alarm went off in the morning, and it was “At Last” by Etta James, one of the most romantic songs of all time. I remember being so surprised and impressed by his emotional side and attentiveness to me! He was also just so fun – he’d show up and surprise me with random treats or to ask me to go on a walk with him. 

Curator's Note: my little 'ol heart just melted all over my kitchen table. Seriously, it's a huge mess and it's all your fault. In order to enhance this part of the story, I've included the song that was Valerio's phone alarm below so we can all just listen to it as we mop up our melted hearts and mould it back into place. 

​Dish on the first kiss!
We were sitting really close and talking about something, and he looked into my eyes and said, “sei molto sensibile” and then kissed me. Then he walked me home and we basically stopped and kissed every quarter mile. And that was just the first night we met!

Where do you live now? 
We live in Arezzo!

Curator's Note: I am coming to visit without a doubt. Thanks for the invite guys! 

Have you learned each other's languages?
Valerio’s English is so so good, and we mostly communicate in English. I am in the never-ending process of learning and improving my Italian, but we probably speak 70% English and 30% Italian. We try to speak it more, and get a little better every day! Sometimes he speaks in Italian and I answer in English, or I speak in Italian and he answers in English, or we just throw a random word in the other language in there every so often when we don’t know the translation. Our translator app is our best friend. Anytime we have a fight Valerio gets impatient with me because I talk a mile a minute in English and he’s trying to translate everything he wants to say but I talk too much to let him, haha.

Me not being so great at Italian is a big struggle for me mostly because I have a hard time participating in conversation when we’re with his friends or family, and I feel like it’s hard for Valerio’s loved ones to get to know me, because I can’t adequately express everything I want to. It can be embarrassing or isolating for me at times. That sucks, but I know the better I get at Italian the easier it will be. 

Curator's Note: we have ALL been there, every single one of us that has ever been featured on Love Story Lunedì. I think I've only ever featured one couple when the non-Italian half was already studying Italian in school prior to meeting her fellow. So just want to tell you that you're not alone and that this period won't last, it only goes up and sometimes it doesn't feel that way because it's hard to notice your own improvement in a language over time but trust me, you are improving. 

Any advice for mixed/long-distance couples?
I always say that being in a mixed culture couple is a blessing because you can never run out of things to talk about. We are always discovering new things about each other or about each other’s culture. Of course miscommunication and cultural differences occasionally create challenges that other couples don’t have, but I think we’ve both learned to be more flexible and understanding because of them. 

Curators note: this is so true, Massi and I are always having fun explaining new words in Italian or English to the other and just the other night, we got into a big discussion about something in English that he interpreted one way and that I interpreted in another. 

Submitted by Faith. 

Here's how you can connect with her:
Twitter: @thefsullivansho
Instagram: @faithsulli
​

A huge, heartfelt thanks to Faith and Valerio for sharing their love story with us.
​Vi auguro tante belle cose. xoxo
​
If you enjoyed this post, you may also like to "dare un'occhiata" at all of the  Love Story Lunedì. 
There are so many amazing stories to read so make sure you're all caught up. And should you want to share your own story or know of a couple who would, please get in touch. The majority of these stories have been brought to me through word-of-mouth, so let's keep spreading the love. 

Here are our past Love Stories in no particular order: 
​LOVE STORIES by Questa Dolce Vita: Bianca and Luca
​LOVE STORIES by Questa Dolce Vita: Paula and Pontus
​LOVE STORIES by Questa Dolce Vita: Alicha and Dennis
LOVE STORIES by Questa Dolce Vita: Arachi and Ciro
LOVE STORIES by Questa Dolce Vita: Genia and Mattia
LOVE STORIES by Questa Dolce Vita: Amanda and Michelangelo​
​LOVE STORIES by Questa Dolce Vita: Carmela and Paolo
LOVE STORIES by Questa Dolce Vita: Evelyn and Fabio​
LOVE STORIES by Questa Dolce Vita: Margarita and Andrea​
​LOVE STORIES by Questa Dolce Vita: Viki and Que
​LOVE STORIES by Questa Dolce Vita: Athena and André
LOVE STORIES by Questa Dolce Vita: Rosa and Rocco
​​LOVE STORIES by Questa Dolce Vita: Hayley and Mike
​LOVE STORIES by Questa Dolce Vita: Philippa and Nick
​LOVE STORIES by Questa Dolce Vita: Camie and Marco
​LOVE STORIES by Questa Dolce Vita: Alannah and Eros​​
LOVE STORIES by Questa Dolce Vita: Cheyenne and Giulio
​LOVE STORIES by Questa Dolce Vita: Jade and Daniele
​LOVE STORIES by Questa Dolce Vita: Chloe and Andrea
LOVE STORIES by Questa Dolce Vita: Coral and Riccardo
LOVE STORIES by Questa Dolce Vita: Rachel and Riccardo
LOVE STORIES by Questa Dolce Vita: Daria and Francesco
LOVE STORIES by Questa Dolce Vita: Briana and Dami
​LOVE STORIES by Questa Dolce Vita: Kayla and Luca
​LOVE STORIES by Questa Dolce Vita: Sarah and Michele
LOVE STORIES by Questa Dolce Vita: Bailey and Carlo​
LOVE STORIES by Questa Dolce Vita: Gregory and Stefania
LOVE STORIES by Questa Dolce Vita: Sofie and Emilio
​LOVE STORIES by Questa Dolce Vita: Isabel and David
​LOVE STORIES by Questa Dolce Vita: Jasmine and Massi
​LOVE STORIES by Questa Dolce Vita: Tiffany and Adam
LOVE STORIES by Questa Dolce Vita: Angela and Davide
​LOVE STORIES by Questa Dolce Vita: Kristie and Graziano
​LOVE STORIES by Questa Dolce Vita: Brittni and Alberto
​LOVE STORIES by Questa Dolce Vita: Maddie and Gio
​LOVE STORIES by Questa Dolce Vita: Jennie and Davide
​LOVE STORIES by Questa Dolce Vita: Lauren and Luigi
LOVE STORIES by Questa Dolce Vita: Rebecca and Leonardo
​LOVE STORIES by Questa Dolce Vita: Jennifer and James