Religion and spirituality
Main religions.
ISLAM
IIslam is the second-most widely practiced religion in Italy behind Roman Catholicism.
Muslim presence in Italy dates back to the 9th century, when Sicily came under control of the Abbasid Caliphate. There was large Muslim presence in Italy from 827 (the first occupation of Mazara) until 1300 (the destruction of the last Muslim settlement of Lucera). Thereafter, until the 20th century, Islam was relatively small in Italy.
During the 20th century, the first Somali immigrants from Italian Somaliland began to arrive. In more recent years, there has been migration from Morocco, Egypt, and Tunisia. Today there are approximately 1,500,000 Muslims and an estimated 500 mosques in Italy,[citation needed] but the religion is not recognised by the law.
ROMAN CATHOLICISM
Roman Catholicism is the largest Christian Denomination in Italy. According to a 2005 survey by Eurispes, 87.8% of the population identified themselves as Catholic; of those, 36.8% considered themselves practicing Catholics and 30.8% said they attended church every Sunday.
Nested in Rome is the Vatican City, a sovereign city-state and vestige of the much larger former Papal States, which is governed by the Pope, who holds the office of Bishop of Rome. The Vatican City is the sovereign territory of the Holy See (Latin: Sancta Sedes) and the location of the Roman Curia and of the Pope's official residence, the Apostolic Palace. Thus the Vatican City, and Rome in general, is the government capital of the Catholic Church.
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