![]() All of a sudden, it was no longer dangerous to express doubt and even question the values of Christianity as a religion or an institution. Ever since the age of illuminism, progressive thinking and more open-ended views on religion became tolerable as public views. The rise of secularism, as mentioned earlier, is often linked with a decline in church attendance throughout Italy. Lack of interest in religion, or socioeconomic shifts? There is simply a lack of resources or personnel to keep them running, leading to more and more of these local churches becoming abandoned. As secularism becomes more prominent and older, more chaotic generations are dying out, many churches are falling behind. This town perfectly exemplifies the current state of churches in most of rural Italy. Every little town in Italy has at least a chapel – The small town of Chianche, in the Benevento province of Italy, is not even on most maps, and it is barely home to 50 people, yet it has two churches, one of which is in disuse. We could write endless chapters about how the Church continued to acquire power and influence over the following centuries, with many churches being built as a result. The proliferation of Churches continued to expand for many hundreds of years, with almost a millennium of influence and power over Italian (and European) politics and society. From gothic to byzantine, and even baroque, anything goes.Ĭonsider this: The Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere, one of Rome’s most important churches, happens to be one of the oldest catholic churches ever, dating back to 340, only a few decades away from Constantine’s decree. Most churches were meant to represent the power of the Church through majestic artwork, tall ceilings, marvelous artifacts, and other stylistic appointments, presenting a huge variety of architectural styles throughout the ages. This presence manifested itself in many forms, especially in the churches built through the years. Was it simply a matter of faith, or was it more of a political strategy? Regardless, this event marked the start of a whole new era for the Church, which would go on to become an almost omnipresent entity throughout Italy, and Europe. Constantine decriminalized Christianity in 313, and he was instrumental in ceasing the persecution of Christians in the Roman empire, in the event that is still remembered today as “The Triumph of the Church.” To this day, historians and scholars are still speculating about the actual reasons leading to the Emperor’s support of Christianity. Progressively, Christianity gained more traction, up until a massive turning point, when Roman Emperor Constantine The Great (AD 306–337) kickstarted the transition of Christianity into the mainstream religion of the Roman Empire, replacing the previous polytheistic pantheon. Just for a quick refresher, Christianity was originally considered a sect, a minority religion belonging to Jewish immigrants who moved to the area. This building belongs to a long list of former churches, sections of which are currently still decaying in plain sight, without even any proper documentation due to loss of records through the centuries. Take the historical building at Via Nilo 22, “Palazzo di Ludovico Di Bux.” Even the current residents might not realize the premises were once a church, with some of its decaying features still visible to this day. The historical center features many residential buildings that simply morphed into homes from their origins as former chapels, as urban expansion swallowed what was there before. Even large cities like Naples in the Campania region are actually home to many unsuspecting former churches. In some cases, abandoned churches and religious buildings might not even be known outside of the lore of a specific neighborhood, and as time goes by, knowledge of these places and their past history gets simply lost through time. From the far north of the country, down to the most remote areas of the southern Italian islands, there are remnants of ancient churches, some of which are only known to smaller local communities. ![]()
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