Marco From Puglia on Gay Life in Italy
Whenever we come to Italy, our gaydar is always in a state of flummox! Every other guy here is ripped to perfection and dressed immaculately. Personal space isn’t an issue with Italians – it’s easy to misconstrue innocent friendly warm gestures. Not that we’re complaining!
We always welcome a trip to the bel paese. We love it and always leave wanting to return – from our first year anniversary in Venice, our gay road trip in Puglia, the glorious Amalfi coast, exploring historical Rome, and partying in the exciting gay scene of Milan. The Italian cities and countryside simply tick every box.
But, when it comes to LGBTQ rights here, it is lagging behind its West European neighbors. For example, Italy has not yet introduced LGBTQ+ equality (although civil unions were introduced in 2016) and anti-discrimination laws have not been applied nationwide. This is not to say that this beautiful country is in any way a dangerous place for queer travelers – quite the contrary! This place offers so much for LGBTQ travelers and welcomes them with open arms. So what is gay life in Italy really like?
We celebrate our 8 years anniversary in a few months. Each year we always make a point of doing something special to celebrate, usually going somewhere exotic and of course, romantic.
Our most memorable anniversary will always be our first year, when we visited Venice as this was our first trip abroad together. Of course Venice is a place you will instantly fall in love with, even if like us you visit out of season in February.
When it comes down romance generally, gay Italy is the ideal destination. We’ve travelled around the country before, but only Venice we’ve been to as a couple. We’ve teamed up with Quality Villas Hotels to showcase our 5 bucket list romantic activities to experience as a couple in Italy.
In my deluded mind, a trip to Milan was an opportunity to sip Negronis by a sun-baked pool, admiring the city’s style and hot, swaggering men. A relentless two-day rain storm changed that plan slightly.
An umbrella was firmly in the hand, rather than in the cocktails, but Italian talent was duly ogled and the Milanese remain admirably chic, even when it’s quite nippy and pouring it down.
We were in the city for the Quiiky Untold History tour. This wasn’t a guided peek into Donatella’s plastic surgeons or Berlusconi’s favourite escort agencies. This was a journey into an ancient past when alchemy, art, design and religion fused to made Italy a cultural ruler. But before delving into the mysteries and wonders of 15th-century art, we plunged into Milanese nightlife.
Lecco Milano is a hip, mixed bar offering food, DJs and a range of cocktails, including one tipple worryingly called GinHB. We also played bingo at L’Elephante while drinking a killer cocktail called the Bin Laden. I don’t remember how I got home.
Even though the country sometimes gets attention for its conservative character, the gay aspect of the Italy is widely popular and very attractive to LGBTI travelers around the globe. Who hasn’t dreamed of spending the holiday season in one of the sexiest Mediterranean countries, with its endless natural beauty, rich food culture and some of the sexiest people in the world?
As Italy has a wide range of destinations and choices to offer, the gay travel experts of Destsetters have made a selection of the best tips and travel ideas, that are able to satisfy everybody – from gay couples in love to single travelers looking for fun and adventure.