towleroad.com writes: Bearing signs that read “It’s time to be civilized. Wake up Italy,” thousands gathered in Rome and in gay rights protests around Italy in support of a civil union bill that is under consideration by the parliament, a bill that would finally give some measure of rights to gay and lesbian people in the third largest economy in the Eurozone.
According to Italian media, there were at least 7,000 demonstrators in Turin, 5,000 in Milan, thousands in Rome and Bologna, a thousand in Bari in the south, and hundreds in Naples and Venice among others.
“It is a historic day for this country, an immense protest that was fed by the desire and enthusiasm of a lot of people who hold the belief in equality close to their hearts,” said Gabriele Piazzoni, the national secretary of Italy’s biggest gay rights group, Arcigay.