TURIN - Who says money can't buy you love? A recent Italian market research survey tries to put a price tag on romance, calculating the cost of "Amore!" between 98 and 140 euros. The research project, conducted by Human Highway and dubbed "Gifts and Feeling - Survey on Their Economic Value," was commissioned by the Italian branch of the American Shopping TV Channel QV.

The researchers asked 1,250 people how they express their feelings, and what kind of gifts they use to do it. The conclusion is that the stronger the feelings, the more expensive the "thought" (which is what counts, after all).

Based on the results of the survey, if you want to say "I'm thinking of you," it costs 87 euros; a simple "I love you" costs 98 euros, while "I'm in love with you" costs 140 euros. Of course, the most expensive sentimental expression is "Will you marry me?" The average price of a proposal is 767 euros.

Over the last year, 86% of those interviewed bought at least one present to say "I love you," and 69% purchased something meant to share the stronger "I'm in love with you." The most popular gifts are clothes (15% of those surveyed), accessories and technological gadgets (13%) and jewelry (10%). Traditional bouquets of flowers seem to be much less popular than in the past, with only 2% using them to say those magic words.

Read the full story in Italian

Photo - Martin Garri