The Goddess Returns to Italy - Paganism and Wicca reborn as a new religious and social movement

Witchcraft in Italy is a firmly established native tradition with many variations from region to region, known in Italian as stregoneria. However, today various Pagan religions have been both replanted and reconstructed. Among these Pagan polytheistic practices, traditions such as Wicca and Druidry have also returned to this land of classical Paganism. Wicca’s presence in Italy is very recent—less than a decade. Estimates of practitioners are difficult to gather; however, there are growing communities of practitioners as well as practitioner/initiates. Wiccan and Pagan literature published in Italian is likewise growing, as are related events and businesses. This article offers a qualitative ethnographic account from the author’s experience of working closely with the Pagan community in Italy, along with some informal quantitative data. Among the adherents to Italian Paganism are the gay and lesbian community, young people and students, feminists, environmental and animal activists, and members of other social strata looking for creative, alternative channels of self-expression. The return of a polytheistic Earth religion is a significant development for Italy, as well as for Southern Europe, and one with possible long-range effects.