Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1899 American Edition.djvu/1082

 726 ITALY

San Marino. — Embraced in the area of Italy is the independent Republic, and one of the oldest States in Europe, San Marino. It has an area of 32 square miles, and a population of about 8,500 (1896). Its annual revenue is about 361,000 lire, and expenditure 357,000. It has no public debt. A new treaty of friendship with the Kingdom of Italy was concluded at Florence, June 28, 1897.

Religion.

The Roman Catholic Church is, nominally, the ruling State religion of Italy ; but many Acts of the Legislature, passed since the establishment of the Kingdom, and more especially since the suppression of the Supreme Pontiff's temporal govern- ment, have subordinated the power of the Church and clergy to the authority of the civil government, and secured freedom of worship to the adherents of all recognised religions. How- ever, scarcely any other positive creed as yet exists but Roman Catholicism. At the census of 1881, of the total population about 62,000 were Protestants and 38,00 J Jews. Of the Protestants 22,000 belonged to the Waldensian Church of Piedmont, about 10,000 to the other evangelical Italian Churches, and 30,000 to foreign Protestant bodies.

Under the Roman Pontiff, this Catholic episcopal hierarchy in Italy con- sists of 49 archbishoprics and 220 bishoprics, besides the 6 cardinal- bishoprics near Rome. Of these prelacies, 76 are immediately subject to the Apostolic See, 12 being archbishoprics. Thus there are altogether 37 metro- politan sees, the average number of suffragan sees to each metroiiolitan being about 4. Every archbishop or bishop is appointed by the Pope, on the advice of a council of Cardinals ; but the royal exequatur is necessary for his instal- lation. The number of parishes in 1881 was 20,465 ; of churches and chapels, 55,263; of secular clergy, 76,560.

The immense wealth of the Italian clergy has greatly dwindled since the year 1850, when the Siccardi bill, abolishing external ecclesiastical jurisdiction and clerical privileges, passed the Sardinian Chambers. This law was ex- tended, in 1861, over the whole Kingdom, and had the effect of rapidly dimi- nishing the numbers as well as the incomes of the clergy.

In 1865 there were in Italy 2,382 religious houses, of which 1,506 were for men and 876 for women. The number of religious persons was 28,991, of whom 14,807 were men and 14,184 women. The mendicant orders numbered 8,229 persons, comprised in the above-mentioned total. A law for the entire suppression of all religious houses throughout the Kingdom was adopted by the Italian Parliament in 1866. This law provided a small pension to all religious persons who had taken regular vows'before January 18, 1864. Several