Italian Pagans Welcome Samhain

I know we have several regular readers here from Italy, so this article didn't strike me as a surprise. Reuters explores the increasing number of Italians embracing Pagan spirituality, and looks at a Samhain celebration taking place in Milan. A festival held at Sforzesco Castle will host artisans demonstrating weaving, blacksmithing, and armory, as well as a Celtic battle re-enactment. Organizers say "the focus is strictly cultural heritage, not religion."

However, that hasn't stopped the interest of Italy's modern Pagan population. In fact, rather than turning to Italy's Roman roots, many of the country's Pagans today are following spiritual traditions founded in the British Isles and America. There could be as many as ten thousand Wiccans in Italy today, but it's hard to tell because of the country's strong Catholic influence. I'm a bit surprised that the article contained no mention of the resurgence of Religio Romana and only a passing reference to Italian folk magic such as Stregheria, but all in all, a well-done article.