User:Acidgirltogo/sandbox/Naples

Religion
Naples has a relationship with the Catholic Church going back almost two thousand years. Evidence of the Catholic Church in Naples, dating all the way back to the second century, was found by archaeologists in The Catacombs of San Gennaro. The Church of Naples is the seat of the Archdiocese of Naples, with the current archdiocese being Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe. While freedom of religion in Italy is guaranteed by the Italian Constitution, more than 83% of the population align with a Christian faith. Naples is just shy of 50 square miles, but it boasts almost 500 churches, hundreds of edicole sacre, and more than 2,000 outdoor prayer shrines called votive aediculae. The Neapolitan people place a high cultural significance on allocating space to worship, so much so that a request was granted to allocate $3.1 million (2.6 million euros) to build a mosque in Naples even though the Muslim portion of the population is less than 4%.

The inclusive attitude towards religion has fostered some unique religious beliefs, superstitions, rituals, and festivals. Miracles, talismans, and hand gestures used to ward off evil spirits are common in Naples. Most festivals are religious in nature, with the biggest festival of the year focusing on the re-liquefying of the blood of St. Januarius.