Discover Bologna from an LGBTI perspective with the guided tour created by IAM – Intersectionalities and more APS, in collaboration with Bologna Welcome.

A journey through places, people, stories and events that reveal the fundamental role played by LGBTI communities in the social, cultural and political history of the city.

Bologna has long been a particularly significant place in the history of LGBTI rights and identities in Italy. The tour retraces some of the key milestones that have helped make the city one of Italy’s leading centres for activism and the visibility of queer communities, showing how LGBTI experiences and struggles have contributed to transforming Bologna and the way public space itself is experienced.

Among the stories explored during the tour is that of queer organising in Bologna. In 1982, Bologna became the first Italian city to grant a municipal space to an association advocating for the rights of gay, bisexual and transgender people: the Circolo XVIII giugno, named in honour of the “Stonewall riots”. The association was given a space in what is still known today as the Cassero di Porta Saragozza, recognising the importance of LGBTI communities within the city’s civic life and associative fabric.

The tour also tells the story of the first trans person in Italy to be elected to a municipal council, in 1995. This pioneering political experience represents a fundamental milestone in the history of trans visibility and participation in Italian institutions.

Through the tour, you will discover not only the events and individuals who have shaped this history, but also the connections between activism, culture, politics and urban transformation. It is a story that highlights how struggles for rights, self-determination and the recognition of differences are an integral part of Bologna’s history.