Religion
Main article: Religion in Italy
Italy is home to many of the world’s largest churches and masterpieces of architecture. Clockwise from left: Florence Cathedral, which has the biggest brick dome in the world;[208][209] St. Peter's Basilica, the largest church of Christendom;[210] Milan Cathedral, the largest Italian church and the fifth largest in the world;[211] and St Mark's Basilica, one of the best known examples of Italo-Byzantine architecture[212]
The Holy See, the episcopal jurisdiction of Rome, contains the central government of the entire Roman Catholic Church, including various agencies essential to administration. Diplomatically, it is recognised by other subjects of international law as a sovereign entity, headed by the Pope, who is also the Bishop of Rome, with which diplomatic relations can be maintained.[215][216] Often incorrectly referred to as "the Vatican", the Holy See is not the same entity as the Vatican City State, which came into existence only in 1929; the Holy See dates back to early Christian times. Ambassadors are officially accredited not to the Vatican City State but to "the Holy See", and papal representatives to states and international organisations are recognised as representing the Holy See, not the Vatican City State.
Minority Christian faiths in Italy include Eastern Orthodox, Waldensians and other Protestant communities. In 2011, there were an estimated 1.5 million Orthodox Christians in Italy, or 2.5% of the population;[217] 0.5 million Pentecostals and Evangelicals (of whom 0.4 million are members of the Assemblies of God), 235,685 Jehovah's Witnesses,[218] 30,000 Waldensians,[219] 25,000 Seventh-day Adventists, 22,000 Latter-day Saints, 15,000 Baptists (plus some 5,000 Free Baptists), 7,000 Lutherans, 4,000 Methodists (affiliated with the Waldensian Church).[220]
One of the longest-established minority religious faiths in Italy is Judaism, Jews having been present in Ancient Rome since before the birth of Christ. Italy has for centuries welcomed Jews expelled from other countries, notably Spain. However, as a result of the Holocaust, about 20% of Italian Jews lost their lives.[221] This, together with the emigration that preceded and followed World War II, has left only a small community of around 28,400 Jews in Italy.[222]
Soaring immigration in the last two decades has been accompanied by an increase in non-Christian faiths. In 2010, there were 1.6 million Muslims in Italy, forming 2.6% of population.[214] In addition, there are more than 200,000 followers of faiths originating in the Indian subcontinent with some 70,000 Sikhs with 22 gurdwaras across the country,[223] 70,000 Hindus, and 50,000 Buddhists.[224] There were an estimated 4,900 Bahá'ís in Italy in 2005.[225]
The Italian state, as a measure to protect religious freedom, devolves shares of income tax to recognised religious communities, under a regime known as Eight per thousand (Otto per mille). Donations are allowed to Christian, Jewish, Buddhist and Hindu communities; however, Islam remains excluded, since no Muslim communities have yet signed a concordat with the Italian state.[226] Taxpayers who do not wish to fund a religion contribute their share to the state welfare system.[227]
Education
Main article: Education in Italy
Bologna University is the oldest academic institution of the world, founded in AD 1088
Primary education lasts eight years. The students are given a basic education in Italian, English, mathematics, natural sciences, history, geography, social studies, physical education and visual and musical arts. Secondary education lasts for five years and includes three traditional types of schools focused on different academic levels: the liceo prepares students for university studies with a classical or scientific curriculum, while the istituto tecnico and the Istituto professionale prepare pupils for vocational education. In 2012, the Italian secondary education has been evalued as slightly below the OECD average, with a strong and steady improvement in science and mathematics results since 2003;[230] however, a wide gap exists between northern schools, which performed significantly better than the national average (among the best in the world in some subjects), and schools in the South, that had much poorer results.[231]
Tertiary education in Italy is divided between public universities, private universities and the prestigious and selective superior graduate schools, such as the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa. The university system in Italy is generally regarded as poor for a world cultural powerhouse, with no universities ranked among the 100 world best and only 20 among the top 500.[232] However, the current government has scheduled major reforms and investments in order to improve the overall internationalisation and quality of the system.[233]
Health
Main article: Healthcare in Italy
The Italian state runs a universal public healthcare system since 1978.[236] However, healthcare is provided to all citizens and residents by a mixed public-private system. The public part is the Servizio Sanitario Nazionale,
which is organised under the Ministry of Health and administered on a
devolved regional basis. Healthcare spending in Italy accounted for 9.2%
of the national GDP in 2012, very close the OECD countries' average of 9.3%.[237]Italy in 2000 ranked as having the world's 2nd best healthcare system,[236][238] and the world's 2nd best healthcare performance. Life expectancy in Italy is 80 for males and 85 for females, placing the country 6th in the world for life expectancy.[239] In comparison to other Western countries, Italy has a relatively low rate of adult obesity (below 10%[240]), probably thanks to the health benefits of the mediterranean diet. The proportion of daily smokers was 22% in 2012, down from 24.4% in 2000 but still slightly above the OECD average.[237] Smoking in public places including bars, restaurants, night clubs and offices has been restricted to specially ventilated rooms since 2005.[241]
No comments:
Post a Comment