The Catholic religion
The Catholic religion has had a profound effect on the history and heritage of the country. From the first century AD, Christianity gradually spread throughout the Roman Empire. Several waves of persecution overwhelmed the first Christians, but the edict of tolerance of Emperor Constantine, in 313, granted them freedom of worship. In 392, Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire. Little by little, Rome became the centre of the Christian world and the Pope the spiritual leader of all Catholics. Since 1870 and the annexation of Rome to the young kingdom of Italy, the popes have given up the political power they had. However, Catholicism remained the state religion for a long time, and it was not until 1984 that a concordat put a definitive end to this pre-eminent position. Today, the Italian Constitution guarantees freedom of religion and the political influence of the Church has been declining since the 1960s.
As far as religious practice is concerned, Italy shares the fate of all European countries: a large part of the population is baptised but only a small percentage attends mass regularly. However, southern Italy still has the highest concentration of the faithful in the country. It is in this area that the highest percentage (40.9%) of people who go to a place of worship at least once a year is found. There are many churches in each city and patron saints are venerated, which explains the impact of religious festivals in which all generations participate. The three major recurrences are Easter, 15 August (Ferragosto) and Christmas. While more and more Italians are adopting northern European customs for Christmas celebrations - Christmas trees and gift exchanges - there are still two traditions that are deeply rooted in the country: the construction of elaborate nativity scenes(presepi) and the Befana. On January 6, the day of the Epiphany, the Befana (a witch) travels the sky on her broom in search of the Christ Child. She stops at every house and leaves gifts, toys and sweets for the good children, and a piece of coal for the others.Other religions
In all three regions, Catholicism, which is in the majority, coexists with other religions. Orthodox Christians come in second place and are, for the most part, the result of immigration from Eastern Europe. Christian minorities are also represented by Protestants (Waldensians, Pentecostals), Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons and the Italo-Greek Catholics of the Arberèche community; the latter practice the Byzantine rite in the Greek language while recognizing the authority of the Holy See. Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism are also practised by citizens of immigrant origin.
As for the Hebrew presence in southern Italy, it has been attested since antiquity. Large Jewish communities were established in Bari, Otranto and Reggio di Calabria. At Bova Marina, in Calabria, the remains of a 4th century A.D. synagogue decorated with mosaics have been discovered, the second oldest synagogue in Western Europe after that of Ostia, the ancient port of Rome. The vast Jewish catacombs of Venosa bear witness to the establishment of a large community in the Lucanian city. In the Middle Ages, the Jews were particularly present in the port cities and some, such as Vieste and Trani in Puglia, still preserve, in the maze of their picturesque alleys, the memory of the ancient Giudecca, the Jewish quarter. The historic centre of Trani also houses two synagogues, one of which has been transformed into a museum.Popular beliefs
Legends and popular beliefs have ancestral origins and their memory has been perpetuated by oral culture. They still belong to the collective memory
Starting with the fantastic beings that populate cities, countryside and forests and can be beneficial or evil. Many local legends tell of the presence of werewolves, who appear on the nights of the full moon. In Puglia, Lu Laurieddhu is a mischievous elf with a pointed hat who disturbs people's sleep at night by sitting on their chest or tickling the soles of their feet. He also likes to make a racket with the pots and pans in the kitchen and tie knots in the horses' manes. But he is also kind to young girls, doing chores for them, and to babies, offering them coins. Lu Laurieddhu has a treasure which he will only reveal to the person who manages to steal his hat.
The legends of Basilicata include a similar being called Monachicchio who is the spirit of a toddler who died before receiving baptism. He wears a red beret in which he hides gold coins, and seeks the company of children with whom he shares games and pranks
Another belief still firmly rooted along the Strait of Messina relates that when the sea and air are not agitated by any wind and are motionless, the Sicilian coasts seem closer due to an optical phenomenon that is called Fata Morgana. The fairy Morgana, a figure of Celtic mythology, was in fact adopted in the South and appears in a story about the Norman conquest of Sicily. While Roger I covets the island from the Calabrian coast, it suddenly appears much closer to him through a mirage caused by the fairy, which decides the Norman to leave to conquer it.
Other stories feature historical figures from the Swabian dynasty that succeeded the Normans. In the castle of Lagopesole, near Potenza, one can sometimes hear the lament of Queen Helena who mourns the death of her husband, Manfred of Sicily, at the battle of Benevento in 1266. Many of the castles in the area are infested with ghosts, such as those in Trani and Monopoli. In the castle of Monte Sant'Angelo in Puglia, it is the spirit of Bianca Lancia, the lover of Emperor Frederick II, who wanders around waiting for her loved one. The castle of Pizzo, in Calabria, is haunted by Joachim Murat, in search of revenge after being imprisoned and executed there in 1815
Finally, tarentism and the dance derived from it, the tarantella, belong fully to this melting pot of popular beliefs. Tarentism was a disease that raged from the fifteenth to the seventeenth century in the city of Taranto, in the Apulia region. It was attributed to the bite of the tarantula, a large black spider, and was treated with music and a dance: the tarantella. Nowadays, the therapeutic function of the tarantella has faded, but it is part of the cultural heritage of southern Italy. Indeed, famous composers (Rossini, Chopin, etc.) have written tarantella, and this dance has been enjoying an undeniable revival in recent years, as witnessed by the success of the Notte della Taranta, a festival held every summer in Puglia.
