Italy is an overwhelmingly Catholic country (Catholics make up for the 87.8% of the populations, with 36.8% considering themselves practising Catholics and 30.8% attending Church every Sunday). Rome, Italian capital city, includes Vatican City, a sovereign city-state, vestige of the much larger former Papal States and, thus, governed by the Pope, who is also Bishop of Rome. It is the sovereign territory of the Holy See (Latin:Sancta Sedes) and the location of the Apostolic Palace — the Pope's official residence — and the Roman Curia. Thus Vatican City, and in general Rome, where the principal ecclesiastical seat of the Holy See (Basilica of St. John Lateran, which is the pope's cathedral) is located, is the governamental capital of the Catholic Church and, in some ways, the heart of Christianity. Nickname: The Eternal City Location of the city of Rome (yellow) within the Province of Rome (red) and region of Lazio (grey) Coordinates: Region Lazio Province Province of Rome Founded 8th century BC Mayor Walter Veltroni Area    - City 1,285 km²  (496. ... Look up Sovereign in Wiktionary, the free dictionary The adjective sovereign is used to refer to a state of sovereignty. ... A city-state is a region controlled exclusively by a city. ... The Papal States (Gli Stati della Chiesa or Stati Pontificii, States of the Church) was one of the major historical states of Italy before the boot-shaped peninsula was unified under the Piedmontese crown of Savoy (later a republic). ... The current Pope is Benedict XVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger), who was elected at the age of 78 on 19 April 2005. ... Christ Giving the Keys to Peter, fresco by Pietro Perugino, 1481–82, commissioned by Pope Sixtus IV, Sistine Chapel, Rome: the act upon which papal authority depends The Bishop of Rome is the bishop of the Holy See and is more commonly referred to as the Pope. ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ... View across St. ... The Roman Curia - usually (though inaccurately) called the Vatican - is the administrative apparatus of the Holy See, coordinating and providing the necessary organisation for the correct functioning of the Roman Catholic Church and the achievement of its goals. ... The late Baroque façade of the Basilica of St. ... Christianity is a monotheistic[1] religion centered on Jesus of Nazareth, and on his life and teachings as presented in the New Testament. ...

Although history has made Italy a strongly Catholic country and it has many cardinals than any other country of the world, there are also some important Christian minorities. The most historical is the Waldensian Church (which forms a single church with Methodists), a pre-Lutheran Protestant community, based in some valleys of Piedmont. The Sacred College of Cardinals is the body of all Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church. ... It has been suggested that Vaudoir be merged into this article or section. ... Methodism or the Methodist movement is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity. ... Lutheranism is a movement within Christianity that began with the theological insights of Martin Luther in the 16th century> Luthers writings launched the Protestant Reformation of the Western church. ... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ... Piedmont (Italian: Piemonte) is a region of northwestern Italy. ...

In the 20th Century, Jehovah's Witnesses, Pentecostalists, non-denominational Evangelicals and Latter-day Saints have been the fastest-growing Protestant churches. At the start of the 21st Century, Western, Central and Eastern Africa inmigration is reinforcing Baptist, Pentecostalist and Evangelical communities in Italy, while that from East Europe has produced large Eastern Orthodox communities. (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999... The Pentecostal movement within Evangelical Christianity places special emphasis on the direct personal experience of God through the gifts of the Holy Spirit, as shown in the Biblical account of the Day of Pentecost. ... The word evangelicalism usually refers to a tendency in diverse branches of conservative, almost always Protestant, Christianity. ... A Latter-day Saint is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), and should not to be confused with the different, though similar term Latter Day Saint. ... The 21st century is the present century of the Gregorian calendar. ... West Africa is the region of western Africa generally considered to include these countries: Benin Burkina Faso Cameroon Côte dIvoire (Ivory Coast) Equatorial Guinea Gabon The Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Liberia Mali Niger Nigeria Republic of the Congo (Congo-Brazzaville) Senegal Sierra Leone Togo Chad, Mauritania, and... Central Africa is a region of Africa often considered to include: Burundi Central African Republic Chad Democratic Republic of the Congo Rwanda Central Africa, or Middle Africa (as by the United Nations when categorising geographic regions), is a term used to also describe the region of Africa south of the... Categories: Africa geography stubs | Eastern Africa ... A Baptist is a member of a Baptist church or a person who believes in baptism by full immersion. ... Eastern Europe is, by convention, that part of Europe from the Ural and Caucasus mountains in the East to an arbitrarily chosen boundary in the West. ... The Eastern Orthodox Church is a religious organization which claims to be the continuation of the original Christian body, founded by Jesus and his Twelve Apostles. ...

As of 2006, Protestants make up 2.4% of Italy population, and members of Eastern Orthodox churches 1.2%.

Demographics

These data refer to the whole Italian population (58,751,711 - 2006, extimated).

• Catholics: 87.8%
• Other Christians: 3.6%
  • Protestants: 2.4%
    • Jehovah's Witnesses: 0.9%
    • Evangelicals and Pentecostalists: 0.8%
    • Latter-day Saints: 0.2%
    • Seventh-day Adventists: 0.1%
    • Waldensians and Methodists: 0.1%
    • Others (Baptists, Lutherans, Reformed Christians, Anglicans, Mennonites, Brethren, etc.): 0.3%
  • Eastern Orthodoxes: 1.2%

Protestantism is one of three primary branches of Christianity. ... The word evangelicalism usually refers to a tendency in diverse branches of conservative, almost always Protestant, Christianity. ... The Pentecostal movement within Evangelical Christianity places special emphasis on the direct personal experience of God through the gifts of the Holy Spirit, as shown in the Biblical account of the Day of Pentecost. ... A Latter-day Saint is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), and should not to be confused with the different, though similar term Latter Day Saint. ... The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA), colloquially referred to as the Adventists, is an evangelical Protestant Christian denomination that grew out of the prophetic Millerite movement in the United States during the middle part of the 19th century. ... It has been suggested that Vaudoir be merged into this article or section. ... Methodism or the Methodist movement is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity. ... A Baptist is a member of a Baptist church or a person who believes in baptism by full immersion. ... Lutheranism is a movement within Christianity that began with the theological insights of Martin Luther in the 16th century> Luthers writings launched the Protestant Reformation of the Western church. ... The Reformed churches are a group of Christian Protestant denominations historically related by a similar Calvinist system of doctrine, which first arose especially in the Swiss Reformation led by Huldrych Zwingli, but soon afterward appeared in nations throughout Western Europe. ... The term Anglican (from medieval Latin ecclesia Anglicana meaning the English church) is used to describe the people, institutions, and churches as well as the liturgical traditions and theological concepts developed by the established Church of England, the Anglican Communion and the Continuing Anglican Churches (a loosely affiliated group of... The Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations based on the teachings and tradition of Menno Simons. ... The Brethren are any of several Christian denominations, most of which are Anabaptist-Pietist. ... The Eastern Orthodox Church is a religious organization which claims to be the continuation of the original Christian body, founded by Jesus and his Twelve Apostles. ...

See also

• Religion in Italy
• Islam in Italy
• Jews in Italy
• Buddhism in Italy
• List of Italian politicians belonging to a religious minority