St. Valentin, Medieval church in Merano, Italy

St. Valentin is a former pilgrimage church in Obermais, a district of Merano, built over what tradition holds is the grave of Saint Valentine of Raetia, who died around 475. Its Romanesque bell tower dates from the 11th to 12th century, and a late Gothic choir with a cross-ribbed vault was added in 1482. The nave was rebuilt in 1618 as a larger Renaissance hall with a stone vault, funded largely by the nobleman Ehrenreich von Trautmannsdorff.

St. Valentin is said to have been built over the original grave of Saint Valentine of Raetia, a wandering missionary and hermit who died around 475. The Romanesque bell tower dates from the 11th or 12th century. In 1482, pastor Sigmund Haller and provost Ulrich Steger had a new late-Gothic choir with a cross-ribbed vault built; the Gothic nave was replaced in 1618 by a larger Renaissance hall with a stone vault, financed largely by Ehrenreich von Trautmannsdorff.

The church is a former pilgrimage site tied to Saint Valentine of Raetia, a wandering missionary and hermit who died around 475 and is said to be buried beneath it. A chronogram of 1827 above the main entrance records this. Indulgences granted in 1338 and 1452, and again by Pope Benedict XIV in 1747 for the saint's feast day, sustained the pilgrimage.

The church stands in Obermais above Merano, and a steep path leads from it down to Labers and Freiberg. The associated Ansitz St. Valentin sits on the hill directly above the church. The building is a protected monument, listed since 20 June 1980.

The church's two oldest bells carried dates and inscriptions: one was marked 1442, and the bell cast in 1669 bore the words "S. Valentine ora pro nobis" (Saint Valentine, pray for us). Two more bells were added in 1824 and 1868.