Why Italy Is the Gay Place to Go - The Gay & Lbian Review

Contents:

• OUR 7 FAVOURE PLAC TO EXPERIENCE GAY ITALY
• GAY BO PACE (PARO AND URBO, THE MARCH)
• WHY ITALY IS THE GAY PLACE TO GO

OUR 7 FAVOURE PLAC TO EXPERIENCE GAY ITALY

To this day, the regn is regularly listed as a top-five European statn acrdg to some of the most followed gay travel fluencers, cludg the Nomadic Boys. A poll on GaylyPla’s webse, one of Italy’s top sourc for LGBTQ+ travel spiratn, named Puglia as the natn’s top summer statn for Queer travelers 2021.

The crowds that spill out and over the siwalks around Gallipoli’s gay bars at night are the same that h the nearby lidos at Baia Ver durg the day. Queer travelers ually nverge on two ma statns: Ostuni, the heart of the Valle d’Itria, and Gallipoli – also known lolly as “Gaylipoli” – Salento.

GAY BO PACE (PARO AND URBO, THE MARCH)

La Ciclatera Sotto Il Mare is a gay-iendly fé wh a wonrful terrace overlookg Bari’s old port, and ’s the perfect place to enjoy somethg light to eat or a place where you n enjoy a pre-dner aperif.

Leonardo Da Vci’s legacy Milan is well known and many historians agree that he was a gay artist leavg his mark many masterpiec of the cy, cludg The Last Supper, hoed by the refectory of the nvent of Santa Maria lle Grazie. There are also many wonrful lser-known plac where an tert LGBTQ+ history uld lead you, such as Florence's Bargello Mm, which ntas an earlier Renaissance statue of David by the artist Donatello—the first ee-standg male nu sce Classil Antiquy, and a super-sexy homoerotic nu at that.

One of the most gay-iendly areas Southern Italy is Puglia, cludg the beachsi town of Gallipoli, which has recently bee a popular statn for LGBTQ+ lols. On the face of LGBT Italy looks somewhat downbeat, but squt a ltle harr and you’ll soon fd a diverse range of gay venu suable for dancg, cisg and dulgg steamy sna meet-cut. While gay-n bs are few and far between, most nightlife the town is to be nsired gay-iendly, wh Iso Gut Hoe holdg a great reputatn among the LGBTQ+ muny.

WHY ITALY IS THE GAY PLACE TO GO

Said to be one of the most gay-iendly ci the regn, Catania go hand hand wh Taorma for gay travellers seekg culture, herage and low-key partyg. A btlg port cy ma famo by s proximy to Mount Etna and UNESCO-listed baroque archecture, Gay Catania attracts a young and dynamic crowd who breathe life to the old town wh rabow buntg and artsy muny spac. As culture grows more liberal, the vibrancy of the gay muny grows wh , allowg for a sctive mix of gay dance parti, snas and cisg spots among the pal’s many cultural hotspots.

A beach day is also an optn while Rome; simply travel southwt for epic sunset views on goln sand beach, stoppg at Ostia, Anz, Sperlonga or wherever tak your your troductn to Gay Rome by fanng out east om the Colossm along Via San Gvanni, a social street led wh gay-iendly bars, clubs and rtrants. Align your vis wh the summer-long Gay Village ftival, one of the most important events the cy’s gay lendar which se Par l Nfeo and surroundg neighbourhoods bee overn wh LGBT street parti, live mic, performance art, film screengs and more.

On all other ocsns, start off any one of Rome’s highbrow cktail bars and microbreweri, lowerg the tone later on at an unrground fetish party, wild gay club or good ol’ fashned gay dis. Drawg parisons wh Mykonos and Sg, Torre l Lago is a beachsi town offerg lh landsp, gged ast and a ton of gay-iendly nightlife offergs to keep you by.

Walk the promena to fd the village’s ma llectn of gay bars, pubs and clubs, an area which serv as both the lotn of the annual Mardi Gras event and gateway to the town’s biggt gay beach.

MilanMol of the term ‘smopolan cy break’, Milan tops the lists of top gay Italy travel statns, thanks to s stat as the high-fashn pal of the world. Home to the largt – not to mentn the most glamoro – gay muny the untry, Gay Milan offers a vibrant space for LGBTQ divas and fashnistas om all rners of the angl the cy centre nod to some era of archecture; be art nouve around Corso Magenta, ratnalism Piazza San Babila or the futuristic skyle shaped by the lik of Zaha Hadid and César Pelli. While much of the cy’s nightlife is gay-iendly, the clubs and bars around the Porta Venezia district are muny outposts that host nightly gay-themed events.

To fd out about the next big gay event, pick up a ee py of Zerodue or Milano Pri magaz om stor and fés around town, readg more about the bt gay bars Milan has to offer wh our full Milan travel gui.

Dpe the gay muny here beg somewhat spread out leavg the party scene muted, the Gay Amalfi Coast shows self small nods of acceptance towards same-sex upl and offers romantic vatns for all. Photograph: Ricrdo Antimiani/EPAAttempts by var ernments over the past three s to enshre gay rights law have eher been stifled or sabotaged.

Fabriz Marrazzo, a spokperson for Gay Centre, a Rome-based associatn, said received about 20, 000 reports of discrimatn agast LGBT people a year, of which about 9% are severe. Alsandro Zan, a gay polician wh the Democratic party, part of the lg aln, and archect of the draft legislatn, was threatened wh ath by an onle opponent unls he whdrew the bill.

Another Sicily who opposed the law said durg a sermon: “If you exprs an opn agast homosexuals, or don’t agree wh two men adoptg a child, you uld end up jail. For travelers lookg to have fun one of Rome’s most betiful districts near the Colossm, Via San Gvanni Laterano, the so-lled Gay Street, is a mt: gay-iendly bars, clubs and rtrants all make for a social eveng.

Take a stroll to Piazza Bra to admire the Roman Amphheatre and on to the monumental San Zeno Altarpiece by Andrea Mantegna ntug to Porta Nuova, the historic center wh the elegant Lucla Cafe, a gay-iendly hang out and the perfect place for an aperif. The historil gay hangout Catania cy center is Via Alsi, around Nievki: a bar and an alternative rtrant which has been welg to LGBT people sce the ‘70s.

For over twenty years between late June and early July, the cy is flood by the lors of the rabow flag wh a seri of iativ crowng the tradnal Catania Gay Pri Para. Taorma is one of the most gay-iendly statns on Sicily, an ial statn year round, thanks to the d climate and the foc on fun, relaxatn and joie vivre as well as the warm hospaly of the Sicilian people.

All the most cril ci celebrate Pri, dited to gay Pri and the LGBTQI+ muny, equaly towards genr rights, and openns towards all forms of love. In addn to Arcigay Catania, which often anis events and activi at s headquarters Via Sant'Elena, other lser-known associatns have a rich lendar of meetgs and activi. In addn, between late June and early July, the cy has been flood wh the lours of the rabow wh a seri of iativ that end wh the tradnal Catania Gay Pri para.

The Cassero LGBT Center (via Don Mzoni) has been a very active centre promotg many iativ sce 1978, cludg Gay Pri, workshops, nventns, parti and moments of aggregatn general.

It is loted wh the medieval walls and took the name of one of the most famo artists and activists of the Bologne gay movement, Stefano Casagran. Not far away are the Garns, where there is the first Italian monument dited to the Nazi persecutn of gays, lbians and Aldi: The buildg which Pier Paolo Pasoli set the exterr shots of his last film, "Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom". If you are a new rint the regn and are cur about your new surroundgs, lookg for and choosg up a py of a Bo Pace gay gui is sential to faiarize your self wh the history, prent and projected future of the to pri paras, much more folks are beg aware of the pth to the LGBT neighborhood.

Contaed si the most popular gay Bo Pace (Paro and Urbo, The March) is a topographil map showg pots of tert such as retail tablishments, rtrants, f, hotels, and rintial buildgs the gay regn. When many gay lotns have cropped up a specific regn of a cy, that area n be marted and subsequently signated as a gay are where the retail facili for stance, are equented by members of the LGBT 2023Simply bee of equent adjtments plans and the fast velopment of the area, an on-le versn of the gay Bo Pace (Paro and Urbo, The March) is out there on the se Menspac which is much more often updated.

SummaryItaly's LGBT muny ncerned by electn rultFears ernment will only promote 'tradnal' valuRight promis not to roll back rightsROME, Sept 27 (Rters) - The LGBT muny has "very real fears" after a nservative bloc domated by the far-right won Italy's general electn, a leadg gay rights mpaigner told natnalist Brothers of Italy group, led by Grgia Meloni, emerged as the largt party the ballot and will lead the most right-wg ernment Rome sce World War Two. "Unfortunately there are very real fears" about an erosn of civil rights unr the new admistratn, Fabriz Marrazzo of the Gay Party is allied wh the League, another far-right force led by Matteo Salvi, and the mastream nservative Forza Italia of former premier Silv Berlni. Explag her opposn to gay parentg rights, she has said that "unlucky children" who are up for adoptn "serve the bt" - meang a father and a has nied suggtns that her socially nservative outlook would stretch to unrmg or abolishg existg Italian legislatn on abortn rights or same-sex partnerships.

REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane'GENDER AND LGBT COLONISATION'Marrazzo, a former lear of the Arcigay LGBT (lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr) associatn who unsuccsfully stood the Sept. 25 electn, said he was most ncerned about the cultural signals g om the said might bee harr to n anti-LGBT discrimatn programm schools and said there had been an crease the past homophobic attacks Italian ci and regns wh right-wg Va & Famiglia, a nservative Catholic lobby that is highly spic of sex tn schools, has lled on the new ernment to pick an tn mister opposed to "any genr and LGBT iologil lonisatn schools" is not expected to take office before late October, so is too early to say whether she will heed the advice. He also said his party supports same-sex partnerships - spe havg voted agast their troductn 2016 - and "is agast all discrimatn"'s ai also stood by a ll to censor an episo of the popular children's rtoon "Peppa Pig" which featured a polar bear wh two mothers, sayg gay parents nnot be prented to mors "as an absolutely natural fact" surveys suggt most Italians are more June, an Ipsos poll showed that 63% of Italians backed marriage rights for gay people, up 15 pots om 2013, and 59% were favour of gay adoptns, an crease of 17 pots om ne years ago.