Religion & Vatican

Italy is nominally ~80% Catholic, but active religious practice is steadily declining (regular church attendance: under 20%). Nevertheless, Catholicism permeates daily life: village processions (particularly impressive at Easter in Sicily and Campania), name days, patron saints, church bells, and the ubiquitous Madonna figures in house niches.

The Vatican in Rome is the center of the worldwide Catholic Church and the smallest state in the world (0.44 km², about 800 inhabitants). The relationship between state and church is complex: since the Lateran Treaties of 1929, the separation has been formally completed, but the church's influence on legislation and society is still noticeable — Italy only introduced divorce rights in 1974 and abortion rights in 1978, each against the fierce resistance of the Vatican.