Aquilea

Aquileia

Official flag of Aquileia Official Emblem of Aquileia City Flag City Emblem
City nickname: "Aquilee (Friulian), Aquilea (English)"
Location of Aquileia Map showing the location of Aquilea.
State	Friuli
Patriarch	Marcello III Veronese
Area	36 km²
Population  - Total (as of 2005)	- 3,330
Time zone  - summer (DST)	CET (UTC+1) CET (UTC+1)

Aquilea is a city in Friuli in Italy. Aquilea is governed by a patriarch, elected by a local council from among the Aquilean priesthood. Aquilea is treated as a self-governing entity by the Friulian government, but the patriarch is not eligible for election as monarch of Italy, and Aquileans vote in national elections as Friulian citizens. Aquilea has for many years been known as a center of religious education, and the Aquilean Catholic University (Universitas Catholica Aquileiae in Latin, Aquilea's official language) draws in approximately 1,000 students each year (for reference, these students are not included in the population figures).

Administration

Aquilea's patriarch is elected for life by the local senate (composed of high ranking members of the Aquilean priesthood) from among the available priests in Aquilea or any other bishops in the world. The current patriarch is Marcello III (Marcello Veronese), elected on October 6, 1981.

Culture

Aquilea is known for its intense focus on religion. The vast majority of Aquileans are Roman Catholic, although the university accepts applicants of most other religions as well, and the city has three churches, a cathedral, and a number of other religious structures.

Aquilea is unusual in that Italian shares its position as official language with Latin (of the ecclesiastical variety). Aquilea is also unusual in that, since most of its inhabitants are adults who live in Aquilea due to some connection with the church, most of its citizens are at least conversant in Latin and make an effort to communicate in it. However, Italian is used as well, especially in communications with the outside world. Classes at the university are, however, taught entirely in Latin, and most communication within the city government is conducted the same way. However, the use of Latin as the primary language extends no further into Friuli than the outskirts of the city.