Valentine's Day century. Popular modern sources claim links to unspecified Greco-Roman February holidays alleged to be devoted to fertility and love to St. Valentine's Day, but prior to Chaucer in the 14th century, there were no links between the saints named Valentinus and romantic love. In Ancient Rome, Lupercalia, observed February 13–15, was an archaic rite connected to fertility. Lupercalia was a festival local to the city of Rome. The more general Festival of Juno Februa, meaning "Juno the purifier" or "the chaste Juno", was celebrated on February 13–14. Pope Gelasius I (492–496) abolished Lupercalia. Some researchers have theorized that Gelasius I
Church of the Virgin Mary (Senica) shingles in 1963. The renaissance entry portal consists of an edicule and an upper shield in which its coat-of-arms are placed. The entry point is lined with pilasters. Church of the Virgin Mary (Senica) The Church of the Virgin Mary is a Roman Catholic church located in a minor square in Senica, Slovakia. Built in 1631, it was originally intended as a Protestant place of worship, but became Catholic in 1654. A major construction makeover occurred a year later, in 1655. The tower of the church, located on the west side, had an upper stage in late baroque added (1754–1788).