Church of Saint Valentine

St. Valentine is the patron saint of the town of Terni and is venerated throughout the world as the patron saint of lovers.
The festivity of lovers has very ancient origins: its roots have to be searched in the Celtics' traditions, in fact among this people at February, in the period when the winter forebodes the arrival of spring, there were some rituals connected with fertility and the waking of nature.
The first testimonies of celebrations among lovers date back to the 15th century in England, and from then on in all the Anglo-Saxon countries this feast has been characterised by the exchange of greeting cards – called "Valentines" – and little presents.
In Italy the feast has been imported later, and the pagan tradition has linked with the Christian one connected to the cult of the patron saint of Terni.
Valentine lived in the 3rd century and dedicated his life to the Christian community of Terni, becoming also the first bishop of the town, and many are the legends handing down his life and his action.
Loved very much by the Umbrian people, the fame of his holiness and of his miracles reached Rome too, and his name was always linked with love because of a fact that in that time provoked a strong clamour: St. Valentine, according to the tradition, was the first religious who celebrated a marriage between a pagan man and a Christian woman.
Persecuted and sentenced to death in Rome, the Saint was martyred on the 14 February, along the Via Flaminia, and buried very quickly to prevent riots by the Christians.
The legend tells that three of his disciples managed to find the body and to transfer it in Terni to bury the Saint in a sacred place.
Since then the 14 February has become the day dedicated to love and lovers: a great number of believers go to the Basilica of S. Valentino, erected to honour the Saint, to invoke his protection and his blessing.
At St. Valentine's Day in the town of Terni take place many initiatives, exhibitions, fairs and cultural events which attract a great deal of tourists.