Latin Europe

Latin Europe

Area	Latin Arch: 1,574,343 km² Romania+Moldova: 272,235 km² (Eastern Europe)
Population	201,213,593
Countries	10 (6 Major)
Most populous country	France
GDP (PPP)	2006 estimate (Andorra)$2.77 billion (France) $1.836 Trillion (Italy) $1.713 Trillion (Malta $8.122 Billion (Moldova)$9.001 Billion (Monaco) $976 million (Portugal) $229.881 Billion (Romania) $196.640 Billion (San Marino) $904 million (Spain) $1.141 Trillion (Vatican City) -
Largest country	France
Dependencies	??
Languages	French, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Catalan, Galician, Basque and a few others
Time Zones	GMT -1:00 (Azores, Portugal) to GMT +2:00 (Romania / Moldova)
Largest Cities	Paris Madrid Rome Lisbon Barcelona Milan Bucharest Porto

Latin Europe is the part of Europe in which Romance languages are the national language or are significantly used. Countries or areas in which such language is officially recognized and/or de facto spoken as a minority language are sometimes included, such as with regards to Malta and the Italian Language. Their languages share a common background, all being descendants of Vulgar Latin. The countries not only have a sense of community with regards to Latin Languages, but share Roman Catholicism as the prevalent religion, with the excpetion of Romania and Moldova, where Eastern Orthodoxy is more dominant. Also all countries of Latin Europe have status within the Latin Union, although not all countries in the Latin Union are considered a part of Latin Europe.

Countries and Territories Included

The heart of Latin Europe is in southwestern Europe, comprising of four countries around the northwestern Mediterranean Basin:

Italy (Malta, Vatican City, and San Marino although separate countries in their own right, are situated so close culturally, geographically, and linguistically to Italy, in that due to their insignificant size, are sometimes regarded with it when dealing with Latin Europe)
France (Monaco, due to the small size of the country, and language shared with France, is often dealt with, with France in this case)
Spain (including the Canary Islands. Andorra, as of its small size and Spanish Dialect, is for simplicity's sake, sometimes lumped with Spain when regarding Latin Europe)
Portugal (including the archipelagos of Madeira and the Azores)

When using 'Latin Europe' in its broader sense, the additional smaller countries that are included are:

Andorra, often grouped with Spain
Malta, often grouped with Italy
Monaco, often grouped with France
San Marino, often grouped with Italy
Vatican City, often grouped with Italy

Some countries, although not situated necessarily in line, or next to the Latin Arch, are part of Latin Europe.

Romania speaks Romanian, a Romance language. It is situated away from the Latin Arch, surrounded by "Slavic Europe" and Hungary.
Moldova, bordering Romania, and speaking the same language. Both countriese, have shown conscious enthusiasm for recognition as parts of Latin Europe, historically expressed in official regulation of Latin Romanian script in 1860, Romanian spelling reform in 1993, and installation of the Latin script for the Romanian language in Moldova.

All the above countries are members of the Latin Union, with the sole exceptions of Malta and Vatican City who are "Permanent Observers" of the Union. In this way, all the countries classified as Latin Europe are in fact involoved in some way with the union.

This greater view of Latin Europe also encompasses small areas of countries in which a language may be predominantley used, although not reffering to the whole Country. This includes:

The areas adjacent Wallonia (in Belgium)
Romandy, speaking Italian
Romansh-speaking Switzerland
Istria county in Croatia, speaking Italian
Italian-speaking municipalities of Slovenia, often seen linguistically and culturally integral with neighbouring Italy.

-During the Middle Ages modern day Germany would be included in this list.
-Dalmatia, with its own (now extinct) Romance language Dalmatian, may also be mentioned.
-On the other hand, in particular contexts, the usage of "Latin Europe" may well be ambiguous such as inclusion of Israel. Template:PDFlink

Linguistically speaking the first mentioned languages (Spanish, French, Italian, Catalan and Portuguese), as well as Dalmatian, belong to the western branch of the Romance languages, while Romanian and Aromanian (speaken in the southern part of the Balkan peninsula) belong to the eastern branch.

Exceptions within Latin European Countries

Note that some parts of the countries on the map have non-Romance languages and cultural traits distinct from most of Latin Europe:

Alsace-Moselle and French Flanders in France have mostly Germanic roots
South Tyrol in Italy is a predominantly German-speaking area, with German as an official language alongside Italian
Brittany in France is considered as a "Celtic nation"
Some parts of the Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia are Slovenian-speaking, with Slovenian having the status of official language alongside Italian and Friulian
Basque is a co-official language in the autonomous regions of Basque Country and parts of Navarre in Spain. The neighbouring French region of Pays Basque shows a Basque identity, even if Basque language is spoken by few.
Transylvania in Romania, in addition to its Romanian-speaking majority, is also home to a substantial Hungarian minority. In fact, Transylvania's Székely Land has a Hungarian majority.

Exceptions within Countries Unofficially using Latin Languages

Some Countries or regions however may, although officially using another language, have siginificant use of a Romance Language to be included:

Malta is referred to as part of Latin Europe, gathering that very large chunks of the language were imported from Italian, French, and English^[1], even though Maltese is often regarded as a Semitic Langauge^[2]. In addition to this, the majority of media content that Malta receives is actually in Italian, with Malta being too small an island and economy to host considerable inputs for themselves on this matter. Many people are bilingual in Italian and English in Malta, and these are all commonly interchanged in everyday conversation.
Although very much in decline, French and Norman language have some official status in the Channel Islands. In the case of Jersey, this includes Jersey Law French, and Jerriais, and in the case of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, there is also law French there, in addition to Guernesais and Sercquais. French was an official language of Alderney until the late 1960s.
As a British overseas territory, Gibraltar's sole official language is English even though the vast majority of the population is bilingual together with Spanish.
Aromanian is an official language in Macedonia and is also taught to pupils in schools in Albania.

Political divisions

Latin Europe is politically divided into the following Countries, Dependent territorys or Autonomous area:

Independent Countries		French Dependencies	Spanish Territory	Portugese Autonomous regions
Andorra France Italy Malta Moldova	Monaco Portugal Romania San Marino Spain	French Guiana Guadeloupe Martinique	Canary Islands Ceuta Melilla Plazas de soberanía	Azores Madeira

Spanish territories claimed by other countries:

Morocco claims the Spanish cities of Ceuta and Melilla and some isles plazas de soberanía off the northern coast of Africa.
Portugal does not recognise Spain's sovereignty over the territory of Olivença/Olivenza.

Other claimed territories by other countries:

Spain claims sovereignty over the British overseas territory of Gibraltar.

Population

Monica Bellucci
		Javier Bardem
Notable Latin Europeans

Demographics

In all of Latin Europe, the original European inhabitants make up the largest segment of the population, with sizable minorities in each country.

Language

See Article: Latin peoples (linguistic) Latin languages (often referred to as Romance languages) are a branch of the Indo-European language family, comprising all the languages that descend from Latin, the language of the Roman Empire. They have more than 700 million native speakers worldwide, mainly in the Americas, Europe, and Africa, as well as in many smaller regions scattered through the world. All Romance languages descend from Vulgar Latin, the language of soldiers, settlers and merchants of the Roman Empire, which was somewhat different from the Classical Latin of the Roman literati. As a result, the group shares several linguistic features that set it apart from other Indo-European branches.

Religion

Of the entire region of Latin Europe Roman Catholicism represents 80% of the population and the Catholic Church's worldwide recorded membership at the end of 2005 was 1,114,966,000. In Romania and Moldova, the dominant religion is Eastern Orthodoxy.

Andorra

Mostly due to its Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Italian influences, Andorra is predominantly Roman Catholic.

France

A variety of religions are practised in France, as freedom of religion is a constitutional right, although some religious doctrines such as Scientology, Children of God, the Unification Church, and the Order of the Solar Temple are considered as cults. According to a January 2007 poll:^[3]^[4]

51% of people polled identified as being Catholics.
31% of those polled declared being agnostics or atheists. (Another poll ^[5] concluded that 27% identified as being atheists.)
10% of those polled identified as being from other religions or being without opinion.
4% identified as Muslim.
3% as Protestant.
1% as Jewish.

Italy

Roman Catholicism is by far the largest religion in the country. Although the Catholic Church is no longer officially the state religion, it still plays a role in the nation's political affairs, partly due to the Holy See's location in Rome. 87.8% of Italians identified as Roman Catholic [1], although only about one-third of these described themselves as active members (36.8%).

Other Christian groups in Italy include more than 700,000 Eastern Orthodox Christians [2], including 470,000 newcomers Template:PDFlink and some 180,000 Greek Orthodox, 550,000 Pentecostals and Evangelicals (0.8%), of whom 400,000 are members of the Assemblies of God, 235,685 Jehovah's Witnesses (0.04%) [3], 30,000 Waldensians [4], 25,000 Seventh-day Adventists, 22,000 Mormons, 15,000 Baptists (plus some 5,000 Free Baptists), 7,000 Lutherans, 5,000 Methodists (affiliated to the Waldensian Church) [5].

Malta

The Constitution of Malta provides for freedom of religion but establishes Roman Catholicism as the state religion.^[6] Freedom House and the World Factbook report that 98 percent of the population is Roman Catholic, making the nation one of the most Catholic countries in the world. The Sunday Mass Census commissioned by the the Archdiocese of Malta reports that 52.6% of the population attends regular religious services. This is the highest rate of attendance in Europe.^[7]^[8]

Around 22% of the population is reported to be active in a church group, movement or community. Malta has the highest concentration of members per capita of the Neocatechumenal Way in the world, since it was introduced in the islands in 1973 by three Italian catechists, who started the first community in the Immaculate Conception Parish in Ħamrun.

The Patron Saints are Saint Paul, Saint Agata and Saint George Preca, known as Dun Ġorġ - the first Maltese saint, canonized on 3 June 2007 by Pope Benedict XVI.

Moldova

Like Romania, Moldova's predominant religion is Eastern Orthodoxy. However, with no requirement in the country for a census of attending numbers, the exact figure of followers is unknown.

Monaco

Roman Catholicism is the official religion, with freedom of other religions guaranteed by the constitution. There are five Roman Catholic parish churches in Monaco and one cathedral presided over by an archbishop.

Romania

Romania is a secular state, thus having no national religion. The majority of the country's citizens are, however, members of the Romanian Orthodox Church, with 86.7% of the country's population identifying as Orthodox in the 2002 census. Other important religions include the Roman Catholicism (4.7%), Protestantism (3.7%), Pentecostal denominations (1.5%) and the Romanian Greek-Catholic Church (0.9%). Romania also has a small but historically significant Muslim minority, concentrated in Dobrogea, who are mostly of Turkish ethnicity and number 67,500 people. Based on the 2002 census data, there are also approximately 6,000 Jews and 23,105 people who are of no religion and/or atheist.

Portugal

Portuguese society is overwhelmingly Roman Catholic. Approximately 90% of the population consider themselves Roman Catholic,^[9] but only about one-third attend Mass and receive the sacraments regularly. Yet a larger number wish to be baptized, married in the Church, and receive Last Rites.

San Marino

With 99% of the population being Roman Catholic, it is a major dominant religion.

Spain

Roman Catholicism is the main religion in the country. About 76% of Spaniards self-identify as Catholics, about 2% with another religious faith, and about 19% identify as non-believers or atheists. A study conducted in October 2006 by the Spanish Centre of Sociological Investigations shows that from the 76% of Spaniards who identify as Catholics or other religious faith, 54% hardly ever or never go to church, 15% go to church some times a year, 10% some time per month and 19% every Sunday or multiple times per week. About 22% of the whole Spanish population attend religious services at least once a month.

Spain is also renowned in the world for its Holy Week traditions. Seville, Malaga and San Fernando in Cadiz, see the most glamorous celebrations, while those of Castilla y Leon see the more sombre and solemn events.

Vatican City

The Vatican is 100% Roman Catholic, since the only inhabitants (fewer than the citizens) are the Pope, a small number of Cardinals and other ecclesiastics, the Swiss Guards and a very few others.

Culture

Andorran Culture is Catalan in essence, since the native-born population of Andorra is Catalan. However, it has given a significant and easily identifiable contribution to the conglomerate of Catalan culture.

French Culture is very rich and diverse, reflecting regional differences as well as the influence of immigration. France plays since centuries an important worldwide role as a cultural center, with Paris as a world center of high culture.

Italian Culture can be found in the Roman ruins remaining in much of the country, the precepts of the Roman Catholic Church, the spirit of the Renaissance and the Enlightenment, the architecture. It can also be tasted in Italy's food.

Maltese Culture is a reflection of various cultures that have come into contact with the Maltese Islands throughout the centuries, including neighbouring Mediterranean cultures, and the cultures of the nations that ruled Malta for long periods of time prior to its independence in 1964.

Maltese cuisine is the result of a long relationship between the Islanders and the many foreigners who made Malta their home over the centuries. This marriage of tastes has given Malta an eclectic mix of Mediterranean cooking. Many popular Maltese specialities are Italian/Sicilian or Moorish in origin.

The culture of Moldova has been influenced primarily by its Romanian origin, the roots of which reach back to the second century A.D., the period of Roman colonization in Dacia. This is due to the fact that the majority of the population of Moldova (Moldovans) are of common ethnicity with Romanians.

The culture of Monaco is heavily influenced by its surrounding neighbours, France, and Italy. Being small by itself, it usually enjoys shared cultures with the two, predominantly France.

Romanian Culture is rich and varied. Like Romanians themselves, it is fundamentally defined as the meeting point of three regions: Central Europe, Eastern Europe, and the Balkans, but cannot be fully included in any of them. The Romanian identity formed on a substratum of mixed Roman and quite possibly Dacian elements (although the latter is controversial), with many other influences. During late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, the major influences came from the Slavic peoples who migrated and settled in nearby Bulgaria, Serbia, Ukraine and eventually Poland and Russia; from medieval Greeks and the Byzantine Empire; from a long domination by the Ottoman Empire; from the Hungarians; and from the Germans living in Transylvania. Modern Romanian culture emerged and developed over roughly the last 250 years under a strong influence from Western culture, particularly French and German culture.

Portuguese Culture is rooted in the Latin culture of Ancient Rome, with a Celtiberian background (a mixture of pre-Roman Celts and Iberian). Portugal has a rich traditional folklore (Ranchos Folclóricos), with great regional variety.

The Three Towers of San Marino are located on the three peaks of Monte Titano in the capital. They are depicted on both the Flag of San Marino and its coat of arms. The three towers are: Guaita, the oldest of the three (it was constructed in the eleventh century); the thirteenth-century Cesta, located on the highest of Monte Titano's summits; and the fourteenth-century Montale, on the smallest of Monte Titano's summits, still privately owned.

San Marino has a famous cake known as La Torta Di Tre Monti ("Cake of the Three Mountains/Towers"), similar to a layered wafer cake covered in Chocolate.

Love Orchestra, a new age pop band, comes from the Republic of St. Marino. During concerts overseas, the San Marino flag is shown on the stage.

Spanish Culture has roots in Celtiberian, Latin, and Semitic traditions, as well as Roman Catholicism, and an ongoing tension between the centralized state (dominated in recent centuries by Castile) and numerous regions and minority peoples. In addition, the history of the nation and its Mediterranean and Atlantic environment have played strong roles in shaping its culture.

The Vatican City is itself of great cultural significance. Buildings such as St. Peter's Basilica and the Sistine Chapel are home to some of the most famous art in the world, which includes works by artists such as Botticelli, Bernini and Michelangelo. The Vatican Library and the collections of the Vatican Museums are of the highest historical, scientific and cultural importance. In 1984, the Vatican was added by UNESCO to the List of World Heritage Sites; it is the only one to consist of an entire state. Furthermore, it is the only site to date registered with the UNESCO as a centre containing monuments in the "International Register of Cultural Property under Special Protection" according to the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.

Music and dance

Spanish Folk Dance & Music: The best-known variety of Spanish folk music is probably flamenco such as well known dancer Belen Maya, a diverse genre created by Andalusian Roma. Flamenco has been known since at least the 1770s, and has been through several cycles of dwindling popularity and rebirth. The style has produced many of the most famous Spanish musicians, including singer Camarón de la Isla and guitarist Carlos Montoya. Outside of flamenco, regional Spanish folk music includes the distinct Basque trikitixa and accordion music, Galician and Asturian gaita (bagpipe) and Aragonese jota.

Fado (translated as destiny or fate) is a music genre which can be traced from the 1820s in Portugal, but probably with much earlier origins. It is characterized by mournful tunes and lyrics, often about the sea or the life of the poor. The music is usually linked to the Portuguese word saudade, a unique word with no accurate translation in any other language . (Home-sickness has an approximate meaning. It is a kind of longing, and conveys a complex mixture of mainly nostalgia, but also sadness, pain, happiness and love).

Portuguese Folk Dance: include: Circle dance, Fandango (of the Ribatejo region), Two Steps Waltz, Schottische (Chotiça), Corridinho (of the Algarve and Estremadura regions), Vira (of the Minho region), Bailarico, Vareirinha, Malhão, Vareira, Maneio, Vira de Cruz, Vira Solto, Vira de Macieira, Sapatinho, Tau-Tau, Ciranda, Zé que Fumas, Regadinho, O Pedreiro and Ó Ti Tirititi. There are also variations of these dances called the Xama-Rita in the Azores.