Italy said today that it would challenge a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights in favour of an Italian woman who opposed the display of a Catholic crucifix at a state school attended by her two children.

Soile Lautsi, from Abano Terme, near Padua, had taken the issue to Strasbourg on the grounds that displaying crucifixes in classrooms contradicted the separation of Church and state in Italy. She was awarded €5,000 (£4,473) in damages. The court said that the school had violated religious and educational freedoms guaranteed under the European Rights Convention.

The ruling could encourage a review of the use of religious symbols in state schools throughout Europe. The court did not, however, order the Italian authorities to remove the crucifixes, and the Italian Government said that it would appeal to the European Court of Human Rights' Grand Chamber. The Vatican said that it would study the ruling before making a comment.

Mariastella Gelmini, the Minister for Education, said that the ruling was "an offence against our traditions. The presence of a crucifix in the classroom does not signify adherence to Roman Cathoilcism, it is a a traditional symbol. In our country nobody wants to impose the Catholic religion, let alone with a crucifix. But no-one can cancel out our identity."

The Italian Bishops Conference said that the verdict was "one sided and ideological". Roberto Calderoli, a minister from the anti-immigrant Northern League, said that the ruling was "a blow to our rights, our culture, our history and our values". Gianni Alemanno, the right wing Mayor of Rome, said that the decision was "madness".

The Strasbourg verdict said: "The presence of the crucifix could easily be interpreted by pupils of all ages as a religious sign and they would feel that they were being educated in a school environment bearing the stamp of a given religion. This could be encouraging for religious pupils, but also disturbing for pupils who practised other religions or were atheists, particularly if they belonged to religious minorities."

According to the verdict, the Italian state is to "refrain from imposing beliefs in premises where individuals were dependent on it ... and was required to observe confessional neutrality in the context of public education, where attending classes was compulsory irrespective of religion, and where the aim should be to foster critical thinking in pupils."

Mrs Lautsi claimed that the display of a crucifix in the state school was contrary to her right to ensure education and teaching "in conformity with my religious and philosophical convictions". She took her case to Strasbourg in July 2006 after Italy's Constitutional Court had dismissed her complaint.

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