GAY EVENTS

Friendly Versilia - April-September
Tuscany has always been very welcoming towards gays and lesbians. "Friendly Versilia" is a project started in 1998 with the aim of giving visibility to the large and still hidden GLBT community in Torre del Lago, a nice town between waters, those of the sea and those of Massaciuccoli Lake, between Viareggio and Pisa. The project was created by the GLBT local switchboard, supported by the local Municipality and sponsored by gay and gay-friendly business. No matter the difficulties and the hard times, Friendly Versilia is today able to attract over 100.000 homosexuals both men and women from all Europe, from the last week of April until the first week of September.
The Lecciona beach will not only surprise you for its beauty and expanse but also for the huge crowd of gays and lesbians that do gather here every summer. Lots of either gay or gay-friendly B&Bs both in Viareggio and Torre del Lago, campings and many other accomodations.
The promenade of Torre del Lago is packed with restaurants, pubs, disco-pubs and a lot more; The famous italian Mardi Gras is annualy hosted on this beautiful promenade and gathers thousands of members of the GLBT community. Presented by Fabio Canino, hylarious and sharp Radio and Tv star, Mardi Gras is a great occasion to come to visit Torre del Lago and enjoy each night of your stay. Mardi Gras is not the only occasion though, calendar is rich in events from April until September.
Info: www.friendlyversilia.it

Gay Village - June-September
Since 2002, summer in Roma for gay and lesbian people, means Gay Village. A huge area in Testaccio, one of the most fascinating quarters in town, is completely dedicated to entertainment for gay people: bars, discos, restaurants, open-air theatres gather thousands of people every night from June to September.
Every year, a theme will suggest the atmosphere at Gay Village: in 2002 Zen philosophy inspired an oriental scenography, in 2003 there was a typical Belle Epoque ambient, and in 2004 you'll be sorrounded by spermatozoons and ovule, in a milky atmosphere. Every night there are concerts, show, performances and dj-set.
Roma – Area Ex Mattatoio – Via del Campo Boario
24 June – 5 September 2004 - from 19.00 to 02.00
Info: www.gayvillage.it

Milan Gay and Lesbian Film Festival - May
Many events, in any period of the year, make Milan one of the most gay-friendly town in Italy. Milan is rich in gay-owned and gay-friendly clubs, restaurants and pubs, so it's only just a matter of picking one! Annual special event for the gay community here, is the "Festival del Cinema GayLesbico e della Cultura Queer" (gay and lesbian film and queer culture festival) which takes place in the month of May.
Info: www.cinemagaylesbico.com

Turin International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival “From Sodom to Hollywood” - April
In 1981 Ottavio Mai and Giovanni Minerba decided to "resist" a kind of cinema that used the homosexual "character" for secondary and/or offensive roles, making their first film on video "Dalla vita di Piero". Acclaimed at the Turin Film Festival, the film was invited to many international film festivals.
And the idea of the Turin International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival “From Sodom to Hollywood” was born: Mai and Minerba attended many festivals to follow their work and realized that a great amount of important gay films never came out in Italy. They started studying an idea of a festival to be presented to the official institutions of Region, Province and the city of Turin: but they were not given an answer for three years. The festival came to life in 1986, with the financial support from Turin Province and Piedmont Region, besides the artistic and cultural support of many important national and international institutions like Museo Nazionale del Cinema, British Council, Goethe Institut, Colegio de Salamanca, B.F.I., Canadian Embassy, Spanish Culture Office, Centre Culturel Français.
Attended by “professionals” (film critics and journalists), students and passionate film experts, this Festival has always kept a strong bond with the common filmgoer, offering spectacular moments taken from international realities and giving the new generation the opportunity to discover, through many retrospectives, the fundamental characters of gay films and culture.
Info: www.tglff.com

Florence Queer Festival - June
Florence Queer Festival is an international gay, lesbian and transgender film and video review, organized by Ireos and Eventi s.r.l. The aim of the Festival is to show fiction, documentaries, long and short movies, usually made by independent productions, that tell about the variegated gay, lesbian and transgender universe, a puzzle of different emotions and feelings, lifestyles and points of view, transforming the queer identity in the protagonist of the cultural creation. The Festival is a one and only chance in Florence to see unpublished works and very rare films in a very comfortable ambient.