Crossword Genius

Love Italian church (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

romance

'love' is the definition.
(romancing is a kind of loving)

'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 "Group of languages" , "mysterious quality" , "Various languages such as French" , "Affair of the heart" , "(Wonderful) piece of fiction" .)

I've seen this clue in The Mirror.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app