Face of Valentine’s Day: Saint Valentine has been brought back to life – just in time for the day of love that bears his name. The face of the patron saint of lovers, who was beheaded for defending romance some 1,700 years ago, has been revealed for the first time thanks to 3D technology. Scientists digitally mapped the holy man’s face with the help of an ancient skull. Computer graphic designers Cicero Moraes unveiled the romantic’s reconstruction in time for Valentine’s Day .
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Moraes, who is based in Sinop, west-central Brazil, said: “This has been an exciting, complicated and rare project to do. It’s not often that you get access to a precious and suitably relevant relic like this. We were fortunate to be in the right place at the right time.
“We worked on this project for three months and unveiling St Valentine’s face now, is a timely reminder of why this dedicated day of affection first started.
“Our work also gives the world a visual reference of who we should be thanking for the celebration.”
The saint’s relic stored in the Basilica of Santa Maria of Cosmedin, in Rome, was photographed by José Luís Lira, a researcher and religious writer, and analysed by forensic anthropologist, Dr Marcos Paulo Salles Machado, from the Legal Medical Institute in Rio de Janeiro.
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He concluded the head ‘belonged to a European male aged around 55 years or more’.
Despite limited access to the skull which is kept in a tiny glass reliquary in the church and coronated with a crown of flowers with a stencilled inscription identifying it as Valentine’s remnants across the forehead; the researchers claim to have produced the first authentic likeness of the third century Roman bishop.
The results of the 3D reconstruction show how a series of photographs led to the digital rebuilding of the characteristics of the centuries-old face.
From the anatomical laying of soft tissue and muscle, to pigmentating skin tone and sculpting the features, the final result depicts a white haired, bearded benevolent-looking man.
He is dressed in a tunic, the official liturgical robes of a priest of the time. The red represents his martyrdom.
Although St Valentine’s life is largely shrouded in mystery, tradition holds that the ancient clergyman, who was killed in 273AD, sacrificed his life for love by defying a ban on marriage imposed by Emperor Claudius II.
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Historians claim the Roman ruler was determined to build a formidable army to defend his empire.
He clamped down on lovers getting hitched, believing that young men, with no wife or dependents, would be more likely to go to war.
But the early Christian saint challenged the edict and secretly performed weddings for couples who fell in love.
The risks were great. Valentine lived at a time when Christians were persecuted and marriage ceremonies performed by the church were still a new ritual.
St Valentine’s match-making activities, particularly for soldiers, were eventually uncovered and Claudius II imprisoned and tortured him.
Legend also has it that while in jail many young people supported the priest by throwing flowers and passing notes through the prison bars expressing their belief in marriage and love.
And apparently shortly before his death, the ‘godfather’ of love fell head over heels for his jailer’s blind daughter, Artemias, who miraculously regained her eyesight.
On February 14, the day of his execution, St Valentine sent his sweetheart a goodbye love letter signed ‘from your Valentine’.
This, along with his selfless defence of love is said to be the inspiration for the world’s most romantic day of the year.
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