https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Italy in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed The Waldensian Evangelical Church on Friday became the first Protestant church in Italy to formally offer to "bless" same-sex couples in civil partnerships, a common practice in Protestant churches across Europe. https://www.thelocal.it/20170826/italian-protestant-church-says-i-do-to-gay-blessings Sat, 26 Aug 2017 11:10:18 +0200 italian-protestant-church-says-i-do-to-gay-blessings A homosexual couple were forced to cancel their holiday at a Calabrian guesthouse after the owner told them, via Whatsapp, that gays and animals are not allowed. https://www.thelocal.it/20170724/italian-hotelier-tells-couple-we-dont-accept-gays-and-animals Mon, 24 Jul 2017 13:46:11 +0200 italian-hotelier-tells-couple-we-dont-accept-gays-and-animals An Italian priest has said the recent earthquakes that have shaken the country, killing hundreds and leaving tens of thousands homeless, were "divine punishment" for gay civil unions, earning the Vatican's wrath. https://www.thelocal.it/20161105/italian-priest-blames-earthquakes-on-gay-unions Sat, 05 Nov 2016 15:32:36 +0100 italian-priest-blames-earthquakes-on-gay-unions A mayor in a northern Italian town has refused to officiate a civil union - but says his actions aren't a "challenge" to the recently-passed law legalizing same-sex unions. https://www.thelocal.it/20160927/italian-mayor-refuses-to-officiate-civil-unions Tue, 27 Sep 2016 14:07:14 +0200 italian-mayor-refuses-to-officiate-civil-unions When the Italian government finally voted in a bill approving civil unions back in May, it was hailed as a historic achievement. https://www.thelocal.it/20160913/italians-who-get-a-civil-union-face-bureacratic-woe Tue, 13 Sep 2016 11:26:19 +0200 italians-who-get-a-civil-union-face-bureacratic-woe Open water swimming star Rachele Bruni was hailed on Wednesday as the first Italian athlete to publicly declare her homosexuality. https://www.thelocal.it/20160817/italy-swim-stars-nod-to-girlfriend-hailed-as-gay-landmark Wed, 17 Aug 2016 15:17:34 +0200 italy-swim-stars-nod-to-girlfriend-hailed-as-gay-landmark Italy's long-awaited, much-disputed law allowing gay civil unions took effect Friday after it was published in an official journal, as couples start applying for legal recognition of their same-sex relationships. https://www.thelocal.it/20160729/gay-civil-unions-finally-become-a-reality-in-italy Fri, 29 Jul 2016 16:43:45 +0200 gay-civil-unions-finally-become-a-reality-in-italy Same-sex couples in Italy will finally have the chance to say “I do” from mid-August onward, Italy's Interior Ministry announced on Thursday. https://www.thelocal.it/20160722/italy-to-start-performing-civil-unions-from-mid-august Fri, 22 Jul 2016 11:00:26 +0200 italy-to-start-performing-civil-unions-from-mid-august Italy has been condemned by the European Court of Human Rights for its refusal to grant a residency permit on family grounds to a New Zealand citizen who wanted to come and live with his Italian partner. https://www.thelocal.it/20160701/italy-must-pay-gay-couple-20000-for-discrimination-right-to-family-life Fri, 01 Jul 2016 12:32:55 +0200 italy-must-pay-gay-couple-20000-for-discrimination-right-to-family-life A group of mostly right-wing Italian politicians announced on Thursday they will seek a referendum to overturn the introduction of gay civil unions, a day after parliament approved the landmark law. https://www.thelocal.it/20160512/italian-right-seeks-referendum-to-overturn-new-gay-unions-law Thu, 12 May 2016 16:46:45 +0200 italian-right-seeks-referendum-to-overturn-new-gay-unions-law When the Italian government finally approved a bill allowing gay civil unions on Wednesday, Prime Minister Matteo Renzi declared it was "a day for celebration." https://www.thelocal.it/20160512/why-not-everyone-is-happy-with-italys-civil-unions-bill Thu, 12 May 2016 11:20:40 +0200 why-not-everyone-is-happy-with-italys-civil-unions-bill The Italian government finally approved a bill to allow gay civil unions, after a long and bitter debate that has pitted the Catholic Church against Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. https://www.thelocal.it/20160511/breaking-italy-says-yes-to-gay-civil-unions-gay-rights-marriage Wed, 11 May 2016 17:44:59 +0200 breaking-italy-says-yes-to-gay-civil-unions-gay-rights-marriage Italy is set to legalize gay civil unions with a confidence vote in parliament on Wednesday on a bill hailed as a historic turning point but criticized as a missed opportunity for greater change. https://www.thelocal.it/20160511/italy-holds-confidence-vote-on-civil-rights-bill Wed, 11 May 2016 14:54:12 +0200 italy-holds-confidence-vote-on-civil-rights-bill The Italian government has put a controversial same-sex unions bill to a confidence vote in a bid to get it passed without further delay. https://www.thelocal.it/20160510/italys-civil-unions-bill-gets-put-to-a-final-confidence-vote Tue, 10 May 2016 18:51:41 +0200 italys-civil-unions-bill-gets-put-to-a-final-confidence-vote Umberto and Roberto, who appeared on Italia’s Got Talent last week, have been together for two years. But only their mothers knew they were gay. https://www.thelocal.it/20160329/italian-gay-couple-come-out-to-their-dads-on-live-tv Tue, 29 Mar 2016 17:29:11 +0200 italian-gay-couple-come-out-to-their-dads-on-live-tv The civil unions bill might have polarized the country ahead of being approved last month, but one of Italy's biggest fashion houses, Gucci, is taking matters into its own hands. https://www.thelocal.it/20160315/gucci-plans-to-allow-gay-newlywed-staff-to-take-a-honeymoon Tue, 15 Mar 2016 11:43:06 +0100 gucci-plans-to-allow-gay-newlywed-staff-to-take-a-honeymoon British film "Weekend" was restricted to just ten cinemas on its release in Italy on Thursday after the country's bishops branded Andrew Haigh's acclaimed gay love story "indecent" and "unusable" in the country's many Church-owned film theatres. https://www.thelocal.it/20160310/censorship-row-as-italy-bishops-curtail-release-of-gay-film Thu, 10 Mar 2016 17:23:42 +0100 censorship-row-as-italy-bishops-curtail-release-of-gay-film Thousands of gay rights activists and LGBT families rallied in Rome Saturday in protest at the watering down of Italy’s civil union’s bill, which no longer envisages adoption rights for homosexual couples. https://www.thelocal.it/20160306/italy-gay-rights-activists-rally-for-adoption-rights Sun, 06 Mar 2016 14:23:10 +0100 italy-gay-rights-activists-rally-for-adoption-rights A Rome family court has approved a lesbian couple's request to simultaneously adopt each other's daughters in a legal first in Italy, gay groups said on Tuesday. https://www.thelocal.it/20160302/italy-tribunal-approves-lesbian-couples-adoption-of-each-others-children Wed, 02 Mar 2016 09:07:13 +0100 italy-tribunal-approves-lesbian-couples-adoption-of-each-others-children A "super-amendment" to a civil unions bill was passed in a vote of confidence in the Senate on Thursday, paving the way for the contested bill to become law. https://www.thelocal.it/20160225/live-italy-set-for-crunch-vote-on-gay-unions Thu, 25 Feb 2016 15:50:52 +0100 live-italy-set-for-crunch-vote-on-gay-unions