Visible Beliefs. Religious Clothing and Constitutional Freedoms: The Italian Legal Framework in Comparative Perspective

This article examines the regulation of religiously connoted cloth- ing within the Italian legal order. Starting from the preliminary dis- tinction between concealing and non-concealing garments, the inqui- ry reconstructs the application of public order provisions (Article 85 T.U.L.P.S. and Article 5 of Law no. 152 of 1975), the interventions of local and regional administrations – with particular regard to Lom- bardy resolution no. X/4553 of 2015 – and the French paradigm found- ed on a general prohibition of facial concealment. Three case studies, devoted to public schools, the employment relationship and the iden- tifying function of identity documents, together with the analysis of Sikh clothing and sporting activity, show that the question exceeds the dimension of public order and concerns the recognition of the citi- zen-believer’s identity, within the conventional framework shaped by the Strasbourg Court through the margin of appreciation.