Crossword Genius

Italian church court (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

romance

'court' is the definition.
('romance' can be a synonym of 'court')

'italian church' is the wordplay.
'italian' becomes 'roman' (Roman is an example).
'church' becomes 'ce' (abbreviation for Church of England).
'roman'+'ce'='ROMANCE'

(Other definitions for romance that I've seen before include "marriage?" , "(Wonderful) piece of fiction" , "Novel - love story" , "Group of languages" , "Court" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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