Italy

The legal situation offers a uniform age of consent for hetero and homosexual relations of 14 years (16 years regarding so-called authority persons). Berlusconi may have gone, making room for what is referred to as a government of experts, meant to stave off the financial crisis with the same majority in parliament, but for homosexuals in Italy, no improvements are anywhere in sight. Instead the new government includes a number of homophobes toeing the Vatican line so that Italy will just have to wait a little longer for an anti-discrimination law or the legal emancipation of same-sex partnerships. Europride 2011 in Rome with over half a million visitors and Lady Gaga heading the line-up was a great success in spite of that. Italy, an extremely popular tourist attraction, is divided into a northern and central parts, in which the gay scene is extremely lively - at least in the large cities like Milan, Rome and Bologna this is the case, and the south, where the commercial influence is extremely weak. In many establishments you require a so-called "club pass" (for example the Uno Club Card from Arcigay) in order to gain access. These can be purchased on site. In summer gay life concentrates at the beach, above all in Torre del Lago in the Toscana, but recently also in the Salento in southern Apulia (Gallipoli) and between Siracusa, Catania and Taormina in Sicily. In summer in the cities there is often not that much going on. To assist with orientation it is important to know that Italy is divided into 20 regions.