.- The number of weddings in Italy has sunk to an all-time low. According to the state statistics office Istat, there were 258,000 marriages celebrated in 2003 compared with 280,000 in 2000.
Statistics showed that this isn’t only the case for civil marriages. Religious marriages are also on the decline.
In 2000, 75 percent of marriages were celebrated with a church service, but that figure dipped to 71 percent in 2003.
The figures varied regionally, with most church weddings taking place in the south.
