The Mediterranean Pride of Naples, on May 28, was the first Pride event of the Italian season and the opening for the so-called Pride Wave of the LGBTI summer season.

Rome was the next stop for showing pride among the LGBTI community, and the capital's June 11 Pride celebration was attended by as many as 700,000 participants.

Then, on June 18, it was Florence's turn, as it hosted Tuscany Pride for the first time. On the same day, Treviso, Palermo and Varese also organized Pride movements.

Waiting for Pride elsewhere

Milan has organized a whole week of extraordinary celebrations, which will end with the Pride Parade on June 25. The Milan Pride is Europe’s largest Pride event, and numerous events will take place for the occasion in several locations of the city.

During Pride Week in Milan, will also be held a conference on "Sexual orientation and gender identity in Italian law" organized by Rete Lenford. The conference aims to provide an overall picture to judges, lawyers, trainee lawyers and students regarding the rights of LGBTI people in Italy.

The program includes presentations about legal protection of sexual orientation and gender identity from an Italian constitutional perspective, discrimination of LGBTI people at workplace, the new civil unions bill, adoption issues and children’s rights.

Bologna is hosting the Bologna Pride, organized by a network of LGBTI associations, on June 25. The city of Perugia is continuing with the long tradition of transforming the Giardini del Frontone into a Pride Village - an idea by Association Omphalos Arcigay Arcilesbica to celebrate the LGBTI people and offer citizens a space to socialize, learn and have fun.

Perugia Pride Village offers a wide range of programs, including debates about transsexuality and intersexuality and the new civil unions law, as well as movie nights (including the of screening the "The Danish Girl," the film based on the true story of Lili Elbe, the first transgender woman receiving a sex reassignment surgery).

Summer pride

The Pride season continues on July 2 in Catania, on July 9 in Turin, on July 16 in Siracusa, and the final event will take place in Gallipoli on July 19, hosting the Salento Pride.

All of these events are still really important, as people are given an occasion to come together and celebrate the fact that they have a part of a beautifully diverse community.