Pietas Comunità Gentile, commonly referred to as Pietas, is a neo-pagan religious organization practicing a reconstructionist form of traditional Roman religion. Established in 2020, it operates as an extension of the Associazione Tradizionale Pietas (ATP), which has been active since the early 2000s . Wild Hunt. Italy formally recognizes Religio Romana organization. The Wild Hunt. December 18, 2020. Available at: https://wildhunt.org/2020/12/italy-formally-recognizes-religio-romana-organization.html.

Since the early 2000s, the Associazione Tradizionale PietasCastagnetto, A.M. and Palmisano, S. (2021) ‘Beyond monotheism. Topics, groups and political interpretations of neo-paganism in Italy’, Polis (Bologna, Italy), 36(3), pp. 413-. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1424/102289.has undertaken projects to reconstruct Roman temples and establish places of worship in Italy.La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno. Culto e cultura nel segno della dea, sorge a Taranto il tempio di Minerva. La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno. February 4, 2023. Available at: https://www.lagazzettadelmezzogiorno.it/video/video/1415466/culto-e-cultura-nel-segno-della-dea-sorge-a-taranto-il-tempio-di-minerva.html across Italy.The association also applied for legal recognition as a religious body under Italian law.Dipartimento per le Libertà Civili e l’Immigrazione. Riconoscimento giuridico. Ministero dell’Interno. Available at: http://www.libertaciviliimmigrazione.dlci.interno.gov.it/it/riconoscimento-giuridico. The Associazione Tradizionale Pietas (ATP) joined the European Congress of Ethnic Religions ECER in 2010. Following the establishment of Pietas Comunità Gentile in 2020, the organisation continued its participation in ECER .European Congress of Ethnic Religions (ECER). Organizations. European Congress of Ethnic Religions. Available at: https://ecer-org.eu/organisations/. ATP's organisational development was influenced by comparable reconstructionist religious organisations elsewhere in Europe, including Thyrsus and YSEE in Greece.Lozko, H. (2023) ‘The revival of European autochthonous religions as a strategy for preserving identity’, Ukrainoznavstvo (Kyiv, Ukraine), 3(88), pp. 248-257. Available at: https://doi.org.

Through the Associazione Tradizionale Pietas, members organised public and private religious ceremonies based on the revival of classical worship. These activities included annual celebrations of the Natale di Roma and the establishment of several temples and ritual spaces in Italy.Museo Nazionale Etrusco di Villa Giulia. Natale di Roma all’Etru. Museo Nazionale Etrusco di Villa Giulia. Available at: https://www.museoetru.it/natale-di-roma-alletru.

On 30 June 2023, representatives of Pietas participated in the annual meeting of the European Congress of Ethnic Religions (ECER), during which delegates from seventeen countries signed the Riga Declaration, a document advocating greater legal recognition of European ethnic religions.

In 2024, Pietas joined the Mediterraneum association together with the Greek Hellenic organisations Thyrsus and YSEE. According to the organisation, Mediterraneum promotes cooperation among groups representing Mediterranean ethnic religions.Mediterraneum – Human Rights Agency. Mediterraneum – Human Rights Agency. Available at: https://www.mediterraneum-hra.org/.

Pietas organizes initiatives such as the Dionisiache, which are intended to maintain the contemporary continuity of ancient mystery cults. Held in the cloister of the former Convent of the Reformed Fathers in Pulsano, these events are conducted in collaboration with local institutions and the Pulsano Archaeological Museum. Dedicated to Artemis and Dionysus, the Dionisiache features a ritual reinterpretation of Roman religion that includes initiatory practices such as shamanic drumming, sacred chants, and nocturnal rites under the moon. The organization has also constructed two active temples in the Ionian region dedicated to Apollo and Minerva for the practice of cultus deorum and its esoteric archetypes.

See also

European Congress of Ethnic Religions Modern paganism Natale di Roma Neopaganism in Italy Reconstructionist Roman religion

References

Further reading

Barbera, Giuseppe, Pietas: An Introduction to Roman Traditionalism, Mythology Corner, 2 June 2021, ISBN 978-0981759616. Barbera, Giuseppe, Aspetti Esoterici nella Tradizione Romana, Editore Elio Ermete, 29 aprile 2017. Lingua: Italiano, Copertina flessibile, 128 pagine, ISBN 8826425434, ISBN 978-8826425436. Castagnetto, A.M. and Palmisano, S. (2021) Beyond monotheism. Topics, groups and political interpretations of neo-paganism in Italy, Polis (Bologna, Italy), 36(3), pp. 413-. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1424/102289

External links