Tuscany, The Place to Be Yourself
We had the very special pleasure of attending the very first press trip in Tuscany, specifically for LGBTQ+ tourism. Visit Tuscany and Toscana Promozione Turistica generously hosted us throughout Rainbow Tuscany to show us how LGBTQ+ friendly the region is. Grazie mille to them for organizing all of our activities, meals, and accommodations! Come along as we show you how you can have a gay (as in happy), but also as in GAY day in the enchanting city of Pisa, Italy!
Planning a trip throughout Italy? Check out our other articles here!
A Piece of Pisa
First, let’s cut right to the chase – there is so much more to the city than its Leaning Tower of Pisa! Although we were only in Pisa for a few hours’ time, we quickly learned that the city is rich in all kinds of history, including that of the LGBTQ+ variety.
Additionally, our group was guided by Francesco Calanca, a proud Italian man. Francesco’s tours throughout Tuscany are steeped with “Queerstory”, as he calls it. He proudly works to “queer the canon” and tell the hidden stories of the LGBTQ+ community.
So if you want to book our tour guide Francesco for your very own tour of queer history or just want to admire his beautiful face for yourself, head over to his website, Queer Tuscany Tours. He is a wealth of information and his work to preserve the forgotten stories of queer history is absolutely invaluable.
Our Gay Agenda for Pisa, Italy
1. Walk the Route of The First Italian Pride
Throughout the centuries, the LGBTQ+ community has been a part of Tuscany’s history, but it’s important to recognize the region’s participation in modern day pride in Italy. Pisa is significant to LGBTQ+ history because it is considered the site of the first Italian Pride!
A little backstory for you – in 1979, a group of university students in Pisa formed a group called the Orfeo Homosexual Collective. Their mission was to promote the right to live one’s sexuality out in the open as well as freedom of expression. They were based out of an office in Vicolo del Tinti 30.
However, in November of 1979, a gay man was murdered while cruising in a forest in Livorno. Keep in mind, this happened 10 years after the Stonewall Riots, so the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement had momentum. As a reaction, the march opposing violence against homosexuals became organized, beginning at Piazza dei Cavalieri and ending at the Leaning Tower. Piazza dei Cavalieri is one of the most notable squares in Pisa because it was often the starting point for political demonstrations.
The event – amassing over 300 people, including allies – became known as Pisa79. It is considered the first Italian pride event because the protest was not only authorized by the local police, but it was also sponsored by the Municipality of Pisa!
Walking parts of the same route those courageous Pisans marched only decades ago felt incredibly empowering. You cannot help but feel the parallels as we continue to fight for equal rights today. We have that the same sense of feeling walking around the Village in New York City.
2. Take a Cruise Around the Square of Miracles
A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Piazza dei Miracoli includes the iconic structures that have made Pisa internationally recognized. Even if you’ve never been, you are likely familiar with the Baptistery, the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, the Camposanto, and of course the Leaning Tower. But look closely! The steps of the Battistero di San Giovanni display evidence of the LGBTQ+ people of the past.
At the base of the second column on the right of the Baptistery, you’ll see a small engraving of a little man. This carving into the stone is referred to as “The Naked Sex”. It historically denotes the Baptistery as a meeting place where gay men would frequent and cruise at night. And by cruising, we don’t mean the Royal Caribbean variety!
3. Visit the Keith Haring Mural in Pisa
Renaissance sculptures and Baroque paintings aren’t the only types of artwork you’ll stumble upon in Tuscany! Head over to Sant’Antonio Abate church to be completely awed. Completed in 1989, Tuttomondo (“All World”) is a massive mural by Keith Haring. The mural is one of the last works he completed before his passing and stands as his last public mural left in Italy. At a whopping size of nearly 2000 square feet, the scale of the artwork completely envelops you!
We couldn’t help but feel emotional when we realized the meaning of the mural. It represents Keith’s vision of a harmonious future for humanity, especially as he painted it at the height of the AIDS crisis. It’s a narrative that we LBGTQ+ people throughout history know all too well. Even in the face of adversity and hostility, we channel our protest into art and celebrate life. The disease would ultimately claim his life a year later.
All 30 characters within the mural represent a different aspect of world peace that Keith envisioned. He even included a cheeky self-portrait of sorts as the yellow figure at the bottom!
4. Walk Via San Giuseppe Benedetto Cottolengo
Not far from the Keith Haring mural, the street of Via San Giuseppe Benedetto Cottolengo was pointed out to us to be another popular cruising spot in the past. We were shown the section of the street at the intersection of Via San Guiseppe Benedetto Cottolengo and Piazza Massimo D’Azeglio. It might be a parking lot now, but such a site enforces Francesco’s work to acknowledge forgotten queer history.
5. Learn About The Office of the Night
Pisans have never been shy when it comes to expressing how they feel about things. In the past, they were known to smash the boxes associated with the Office of the Night. It was a government agency in charge of policing and prosecuting “crimes of sodomy”. Anyone could submit names on a piece of paper and drop it in, making them like mailboxes for accusing others of sodomy. Once a month, the Office of the Night would collect and review the papers and begin investigations on the submissions they received.
6. Pop into PIsa’s Palazzo Blu
Without a doubt, it’s impossible to miss Palazzo Blu – a beautiful blue building along the Arno River. It’s a cultural and art exhibition space worth visiting to see if they are currently exhibiting any LGBTQ+ artists! Previously, they have featured Andy Warhol! Check out their current exhibitions here!
7. Meet Up at Castigo
Since we were only in Pisa for a few hours during the day, we did not get to experience Castigo for ourselves. That being said, we want to make sure we highlight it for you! Castigo is a gay bar and meeting point for LGBTQ+ folks and their friends. Every Thursday there is music and every Friday there is karaoke! So, make sure you go party like a Pisan!
bonus, A Fun Fact!
So, queers and iced coffee go together like bread and butter. But, you might be surprised to know that ice is not the first thing Italians reach for when whipping up java. If your gay DNA demands that you need a chilled dose of caffeine, ask your barista for a “shakerato”. You will then be handed a shot of espresso that’s literally shaken (not stirred) to icy perfection. We got our fix at Caffè dell’ Ussero dal 1775.
Takeaway:
Honestly, we wish we had more than a few hours in Pisa! It’s one of the cities that gets labeled as a place you only need part of a day in and then you’ll have seen it all. That’s simply not true! It was beautiful and bustling and there’s so much more to experience than the classic structures within the Square of Miracles. We both want to return for an extended visit one day!
If you have found this guide helpful, we’d appreciate your support by leaving a comment, and by following us on our social platforms so this information can find its way into the hands of folks who need it most!
Thank you!
We’re very happy you may want to use our images. However, all photographs in this blog and on this website are originally produced by us unless otherwise stated. We’d love to share but please contact us for permission before using or distributing.