Arcigay is Italy's first and largest worldwide gay organisation. The association was first founded as a local association in

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

in 1980, then nationally established in

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

in 1985. The organisation became known throughout Italy for its campaign for civil unions. The President of Arcigay is Natascia Maesi, the first woman leading Arcigay since its creation. The secretary is Gabriele Piazzoni. Franco Grillini, a historical figure and previous president of Arcigay, is now honorary president. From its creation to the present, Arcigay has welcomed the birth of many subsidiary associations in Italy's various realities, and there are now several dozen territorial communities, often bounded by the territories of Italian provinces. Founder and president of the territorial committee of the

Province of Imperia The province of Imperia (; ; ) is a mountainous and hilly Provinces of Italy, province in the Liguria region of Italy, situated between France to the north and the west, and the Ligurian Sea, an arm of the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Its capi ...

is the Italian

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...

Marco Antei. Arcigay has often protested against the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

's opposition to homosexuality and

LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian, Gay men, gay, Bisexuality, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the Capital punishmen ...

History

The creation of Arcigay

The first nucleus of what later became Arcigay was formed in

on 9 December 1980, as ARCI Gay, partly on the emotional wave of a demonstration organized in

Giarre Giarre () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Catania, Sicily. The town is located about southeast of Palermo and around north of Catania. Geography Giarre is bounded by the municipalities of Acireale, Mascali, Milo, Ri ...

for a crime that had occurred about two months earlier. Two young men, Giorgio Agatino Giammona and Antonio Galatola, were killed on 17 October with a bullet each in the head for being gay. It was Antonio's 13-year-old nephew who shot, forced by the two in order to escape the "shame" that their condition as homosexuals procured for themselves and their families. After Palermo in many other cities in Italy, people started to reunite in small groups. Nonetheless, the national association to which everyone referred did not yet exist as an independent entity, but referred to the ARCI association which grouped together various Italian cultural entities and for the first time gave space to issues pertaining to the homosexual world. Among the first leaders of those movements, we need to mention Massimo Milani, Gino Campanella and Marco Bisceglia, the latter being a priest who was already an adherent of so-called liberation theology, a homosexual himself and a forerunner of gay marriage in Italy, having celebrated in 1975 a so-called "union of conscience" religious union between two men. This caused the priest a suspension from his Catholic Church. In 1982, again in Palermo, a national meeting of ARCI Gay was held, considered the association's first congress in that it was attended by the national leadership of the ARCI; two years later ARCI Gay posed the problem of institutionalizing and stabilizing its presence throughout the country, which led to the first constituent summit held in late 1984.

Organisation

Arcigay is divided into several subsidiary associations scattered throughout Italy. Here we present the list updated to 2022: *

Ancona Ancona (, also ; ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region of central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona, homonymous province and of the region. The city is located northeast of Ro ...

- Arcigay Comunitas Ancona - Comitato Territoriale Arcigay *

Aosta Aosta ( , , ; ; , or ; or ) is the principal city of the Aosta Valley, a bilingual Regions of Italy, region in the Italy, Italian Alps, north-northwest of Turin. It is situated near the Italian entrance of the Mont Blanc Tunnel and the G ...

- Arcigay Valle d'Aosta Queer VdA - Comitato Territoriale Arcigay *

Arezzo Arezzo ( , ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in Italy and the capital of the Province of Arezzo, province of the same name located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about southeast of Florence at an elevation of Above mean sea level, above sea level. As of 2 ...

- Arcigay Arezzo "Chimera Arcobaleno" - Comitato territoriale Arcigay *

Asti Asti ( , ; ; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) of 74,348 inhabitants (1–1–2021) located in the Italy, Italian region of Piedmont, about east of Turin, in the plain of the Tanaro, Tanaro River. It is the capital of the province of Asti and ...

- Love is Love - Associazione Aderente Arcigay *

Avellino Avellino () is a city and ''comune'', capital of the province of Avellino in the Campania region of southern Italy. It is situated in a plain surrounded by mountains east of Naples and is an important hub on the road from Salerno to Benevento. ...

- Avellino - Associazione Aderente Arcigay *

Bari Bari ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia Regions of Italy, region, on the Adriatic Sea in southern Italy. It is the first most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy. It is a port and ...

- Arcigay Bari "L'arcobaleno del Levante" - Comitato territoriale Arcigay *

Barletta-Andria-Trani The province of Barletta-Andria-Trani () is a province in the Apulia region of Italy. The establishment of the province took effect in June 2009, and Andria was appointed as its seat of government on 21 May 2010. It was created from 10 ''comuni ...

- Arcigay Bat "Le Mine Vaganti" - Comitato territoriale Arcigay *

Bergamo Bergamo ( , ; ) is a city in the Alps, alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from the alpine lakes Lake Como, Como and Lake Iseo, Iseo and 70 km (43 mi) from Lake Garda, Garda and Lake ...

- Arcigay Bergamo "Cives" - Comitato territoriale Arcigay *

- Cassero LGBT Center - Comitato territoriale Arcigay *

Bolzano Bolzano ( ; ; or ) is the capital city of South Tyrol (officially the province of Bolzano), Northern Italy. With a population of 108,245, Bolzano is also by far the largest city in South Tyrol and the third largest in historical Tyrol. The ...

- Centaurus Arcigay dell'Alto Adige Südtirol - Comitato territoriale Arcigay *

Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...

- Arcigay Orlando Brescia APS - Comitato territoriale Arcigay *

Campania Campania is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy located in Southern Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian Peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islan ...

- Arcigay Campania - Coordinamento Regionale Arcigay *

Caserta Caserta ( ; ) is the capital of the province of Caserta in the Campania region of Italy. An important agricultural, commercial, and industrial ''comune'' and city, Caserta is located 36 kilometres north of Naples on the edge of the Campanian p ...

- Rain Arcigay Caserta - Comitato territoriale Arcigay *Castelli Romani - Castelli Romani - Associazione Aderente Arcigay *

Catania Catania (, , , Sicilian and ) is the second-largest municipality on Sicily, after Palermo, both by area and by population. Despite being the second city of the island, Catania is the center of the most densely populated Sicilian conurbation, wh ...

- Arcigay Pegaso Catania - Comitato territoriale Arcigay *

Chieti Chieti (, ; , , ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Southern Italy, east of Rome. It is the capital of the province of Chieti, in the Abruzzo, Abruzzo region. In Italian, the adjectival form is ''teatino'' and inhabitants of Chieti ar ...

- Arcigay Chieti - Sylvia Rivera - Comitato territoriale Arcigay *

Como Como (, ; , or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Nestled at the southwestern branch of the picturesque Lake Como, the city is a renowned tourist destination, ce ...

- Arcigay Como - Comitato Territoriale Arcigay *

Cosenza Cosenza (; Languages of Calabria#Northern Calabrian (Cosentian), Cosentian: ''Cusenza'', ) is a city located in Calabria, Italy. The city centre has a population of approximately 70,000, while the urban area counts more than 200,000 inhabitants. ...

- Arcigay EOS Cosenza - Comitato territoriale Arcigay *

Cremona Cremona ( , , ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po (river), Po river in the middle of the Po Valley. It is the capital of the province of Cremona and the seat of the local city a ...

- Arcigay Cremona "La Rocca" - Comitato territoriale Arcigay *

Cuneo Cuneo (; ; ; ) is a city and in Piedmont, Italy, the capital of the province of Cuneo, the fourth largest of Italy’s provinces by area. It is located at 550 metres (1,804 ft) in the south-west of Piedmont, at the confluence of the ri ...

- Arcigay "Granda Queer" Cuneo - Comitato territoriale Arcigay *

Ferrara Ferrara (; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, capital of the province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main ...

- Arcigay Ferrara - Comitato territoriale Arcigay *

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

- Arcigay Firenze Altre Sponde - Comitato Territoriale Arcigay *

Foggia Foggia (, ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) of Apulia, in Southern Italy, capital of the province of Foggia. In 2013, its population was 153,143. Foggia is the main city of a plain called Tavoliere delle Puglie, Tavoliere, also know ...

- Arcigay Foggia "Le Bigotte" - Comitato territoriale Arcigay * Frosinone - Frosinone - Comitato Territoriale Arcigay * Genova - Arcigay Genova - Approdo Lilia Mulas A.P.S. - Comitato territoriale Arcigay *

Imperia Imperia (; or ) is a coastal city and ''comune'' in the Regions of Italy, region of Liguria, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Imperia, and historically it was capital of the ''Intemelia'' district of Liguria. Benito Mussolini create ...

- M.I.A. Arcigay Imperia. Comitato territoriale Arcigay *

L'Aquila L'Aquila ( ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in central Italy. It is the capital city of the Province of L'Aquila and the Abruzzo region in Italy. , it has a population of 69,902. Laid out within medieval walls on a hill in the wide valley of the A ...

- Arcigay "Massimo Consoli" L'Aquila - Comitato territoriale Arcigay * Latina - SEIcomeSEI - Comitato territoriale Arcigay *Le fate ignoranti - Le fate ignoranti - Associazione Aderente Arcigay *

Lecce Lecce (; ) is a city in southern Italy and capital of the province of Lecce. It is on the Salentine Peninsula, at the heel of the Italian Peninsula, and is over two thousand years old. Because of its rich Baroque architecture, Lecce is n ...

- Arcigay Salento - Comitato territoriale Arcigay *

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 152,916 residents as of 2025. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn ...

- L.E.D. Libertà e Diritti - Comitato territoriale Arcigay * Mantova - Arcigay "La Salamandra" Mantova - Comitato territoriale Arcigay *

Messina Messina ( , ; ; ; ) is a harbour city and the capital city, capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of 216,918 inhabitants ...

- Arcigay "Makwan" Messina - Comitato territoriale Arcigay *

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

- Centro d’Iniziativa Gay - Comitato territoriale Arcigay *

Modena Modena (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It has 184,739 inhabitants as of 2025. A town, and seat of an archbis ...

- Arcigay Modena "Matthew Shepard" (ODV) - Comitato territoriale Arcigay *

Molise Molise ( , ; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. Until 1963, it formed part of the region of Abruzzi e Molise together with Abruzzo. The split, which did not become effective until 1970, makes Molise the newest region in Ital ...

- Arcigay Molise "Lambda Identità Libere" - Comitato Territoriale Arcigay *

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

- Arcigay "Antinoo" Napoli - Comitato territoriale Arcigay *

Padova Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of ...

- Arcigay Tralaltro Padova - Comitato territoriale Arcigay *

- Arcigay Palermo - Comitato territoriale Arcigay *

Pavia Pavia ( , ; ; ; ; ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, in Northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino (river), Ticino near its confluence with the Po (river), Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was a major polit ...

- Coming-Aut LGBTI+ Community Center - Arcigay Pavia - Comitato territoriale Arcigay * Pesaro Urbino - Arcigay Agorà - Comitato territoriale Arcigay *

Pescara Pescara (; ; ) is the capital city of the province of Pescara, in the Abruzzo Regions of Italy, region of Italy. It is the most populated city in Abruzzo, with 118,657 (January 1, 2023) residents (and approximately 350,000 including the surround ...

- Mazì - Comitato Territoriale Arcigay *

Piacenza Piacenza (; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Piacenza, eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with more ...

- Arcigay Piacenza Lambda - Comitato territoriale Arcigay *

Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...

- Pinkriot Arcigay Pisa - Comitato territoriale Arcigay * Potenza - Arcigay Basilicata "Marco Bisceglia" - Comitato territoriale Arcigay * Prato Pistoia - Arcigay Prato Pistoia l'Asterisco - Comitato territoriale Arcigay * Ragusa - Arcigay Ragusa - Comitato territoriale Arcigay *

Ravenna Ravenna ( ; , also ; ) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire during the 5th century until its Fall of Rome, collapse in 476, after which ...

- Arcigay Ravenna Elio Venturi - Comitato territoriale Arcigay *

Reggio Calabria Reggio di Calabria (; ), commonly and officially referred to as Reggio Calabria, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, is the List of cities in Italy, largest city in Calabria as well as the seat of the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria. As ...

- Arcigay IDM "I Due Mari", Reggio Calabria - Comitato territoriale Arcigay *

Reggio Emilia Reggio nell'Emilia (; ), usually referred to as Reggio Emilia, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, and known until Unification of Italy, 1861 as Reggio di Lombardia, is a city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has about 172,51 ...

- Arcigay Reggio Emilia "Gioconda" - Comitato territoriale Arcigay * Rieti - Rieti LGBT+ - Comitato Territoriale Arcigay *

Rimini Rimini ( , ; or ; ) is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. Sprawling along the Adriatic Sea, Rimini is situated at a strategically-important north-south passage along the coast at the southern tip of the Po Valley. It is ...

- Arcigay Rimini "Alan Turing" - Comitato territoriale Arcigay *

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

- Arcigay Roma Gruppo Ora - Comitato territoriale Arcigay *Roma - Divine Ostia - Associazione Aderente Arcigay *

Rovigo Rovigo (, ; ) is a city and communes of Italy, commune in the region of Veneto, Northeast Italy, the capital of the province of Rovigo, eponymous province. Geography Rovigo stands on the low ground known as Polesine, by rail southwest of Veni ...

- Arcigay Rovigo "Politropia" - Comitato territoriale Arcigay *

Salerno Salerno (, ; ; ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Campania, southwestern Italy, and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after Naples. It is located ...

- Arcigay "Marcella di Folco" Salerno - Comitato territoriale Arcigay *

Savona Savona (; ) is a seaport and (municipality) in the west part of the northern Italian region of Liguria, and the capital of the Province of Savona. Facing the Ligurian Sea, Savona is the main center of the Riviera di Ponente (the western se ...

- Arcigay Savona "APERTAMENTE" - Comitato territoriale Arcigay *

Siena Siena ( , ; traditionally spelled Sienna in English; ) is a city in Tuscany, in central Italy, and the capital of the province of Siena. It is the twelfth most populated city in the region by number of inhabitants, with a population of 52,991 ...

- Movimento Pansessuale APS - Comitato Territoriale Arcigay * Siracusa - Arcigay Siracusa - Comitato territoriale Arcigay *

Taranto Taranto (; ; previously called Tarent in English) is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Taranto, serving as an important commercial port as well as the main Italian naval base. Founded by Spartans ...

- Stambopoli - Comitato Territoriale Arcigay *

Teramo Teramo (; ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Abruzzo, the capital of the province of Teramo. The city, from Rome, is situated between the highest mountains of the Apennines ( Gran Sasso d'Italia) and the Adriatic coast. Th ...

- Arcigay Teramo - Associazione Aderente Arcigay *

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

- Arcigay Torino "Ottavio Mai" - Comitato territoriale Arcigay *

Torino Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

- Casa Arcobaleno Torino - Associazione Aderente Arcigay *

Trento Trento ( or ; Ladin language, Ladin and ; ; ; ; ; ), also known in English as Trent, is a city on the Adige, Adige River in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol in Italy. It is the capital of the Trentino, autonomous province of Trento. In the 16th ...

- Arcigay del Trentino - Comitato territoriale Arcigay *

Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...

- Arcigay Arcobaleno ODV Trieste Gorizia - Comitato territoriale Arcigay *

Udine Udine ( ; ; ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in northeastern Italy, in the middle of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, between the Adriatic Sea and the Carnic Alps. It is the capital of the Province of Udine, Regional decentralization entity ...

- Arcigay Friuli ODV - Comitato territoriale Arcigay *

Varese Varese ( , ; or ; ; ; archaic ) is a city and ''comune'' in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, north-west of Milan. The population of Varese in 2018 was 80,559. It is the capital of the Province of Varese. The hinterland or exurban part ...

- Arcigay Varese - Comitato territoriale Arcigay *

Verbania Verbania (, , ) is the most populous ''comune'' (municipality) and the capital city of the province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola in the Piedmont region of northwest Italy. It is situated on the shore of Lake Maggiore, about north-west of Milan and ab ...

- Arcigay Nuovi Colori ONLUS - Comitato territoriale Arcigay *

Vercelli Vercelli (; ) is a city and ''comune'' of 46,552 inhabitants (January 1, 2017) in the Province of Vercelli, Piedmont, northern Italy. One of the oldest urban sites in northern Italy, it was founded, according to most historians, around 600 BC. ...

- Arcigay Rainbow Vercelli - Valsesia - Comitato territoriale Arcigay *

Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...

- Pianeta Milk - Verona Lgbt* Center - Arcigay/Arci - Comitato territoriale Arcigay *

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; or , archaically ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, where it straddles the Bacchiglione, River Bacchiglione. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and e ...

- Arcigay Vicenza APS - Comitato territoriale Arcigay *

Viterbo Viterbo (; Central Italian, Viterbese: ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Lazio region of Italy, the Capital city, capital of the province of Viterbo. It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento (see Ferentium) in ...

- Viterbo - Associazione Aderente Arcigay

References

External links

* {{Authority control LGBTQ political advocacy groups in Italy LGBTQ organisations based in Italy LGBTQ history in Italy

History

The creation of Arcigay

Organisation

See also

References

External links