I started reading about Italian culture... a lot of things make up the culture of a country:
language, religion, art, food, business, sports, and more. Today I briefly
looked at religion.
Most people know a little bit
about religion in Italy- the majority of Italians are Roman Catholic. This is
no surprise, since Vatican City is located within Rome and is where the Pope
lives. Interestingly, Vatican City is a walled enclave within Rome and is
actually an independent city-state- the smallest independent city-state in the
world by both area (110 acres) and population (842). I never realized that
about the Vatican before. I’m not sure how this fact escaped me, but I think it’s
actually quite fascinating. St. Peter’s Basilica and the Sistine Chapel are
located in Vatican City, as well! The Roman Catholic Church is separated from the
state but still plays a role in politics (no surprise there).
A small percentage of Italy’s
population follows religions other than Roman Catholicism. Italy’s second
largest religion is Islam, due to the Muslim immigrant population. Italy also
has small representation from other Christian denominations and Jews (although
many Jews emigrated from Italy following World War II).
So there you have it- religion in
Italy. No big surprises, I guess, although for me it was fun to discover that
Vatican City is an actual independent city-state! Mr. Coffeebeans already knew this... did you?
Vatican City
Xoxo,
Diana
No comments:
Post a Comment