Italy as a whole, and northern Italy in particular, are gay-friendly. Homosexuality is legal, and the age of consent is 16. Luckily, Italians are already more affectionate and physical than Americans in their general friendships, and even straight men occasionally walk down the street with their arms around each other -- however, kissing anywhere other than on the cheeks at greetings and goodbyes will certainly draw attention. As you might expect, smaller towns tend to be less permissive and accepting than cities.
Italy's national association and support network for gays and lesbians is ARCI-Gay/ARCI-Lesbica. The national website is www.arcigay.it, and there are local branches in a number of northern Italian cities. In Padua, the offices for the local branch, Tralaltro, are at Corso Garibaldi 41 (tel. 049-876-2458; www.tralaltro.it). Arcigay in Turin hosts frequent events: Their offices are located at the Torino Youth Center (Via Faa di Bruno; tel. 349-094-2136; www.arcigaytorino.it.). Other northern Italian cities with branches include Aosta, Bolzano, Brescia, Cremona, Milan, Mantua, Trent, Trieste, Udine, and Venice, although not all of them have offices. See Arcigay's website (which has an English version) for contact info.
The International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA; tel. 800-448-8550 or 954-776-2626; www.iglta.org) is the trade association for the gay and lesbian travel industry, and offers an online directory of gay- and lesbian-friendly travel businesses and tour operators.
Many agencies offer specific tours and travel itineraries for gay and lesbian travelers. Above and Beyond Tours (tel. 800-397-2681; www.abovebeyondtours.com) are gay Australia tour specialists. San Francisco-based Now, Voyager (tel. 800-255-6951; www.nowvoyager.com) offers worldwide trips and cruises, and Olivia (tel. 800-631-6277; www.olivia.com) offers lesbian cruises and resort vacations.
Gay.com Travel (tel. 800-929-2268 or 415-644-8044; www.gay.com/travel or www.outandabout.com) is an excellent online successor to the popular Out & About print magazine. It provides regularly updated information about gay-owned, gay-oriented, and gay-friendly lodging, dining, sightseeing, nightlife, and shopping establishments in every important destination worldwide. British travelers should click on the "Travel" link at www.uk.gay.com for advice and gay-friendly trip ideas.
The Canadian website GayTraveler (gaytraveler.ca) offers ideas and advice for gay travel all over the world.
The following travel guides are available at many bookstores, or you can order them from any online bookseller: Spartacus International Gay Guide, 35th Edition (Bruno Gmünder Verlag; www.spartacusworld.com/gayguide) and Odysseus: The International Gay Travel Planner, 17th Edition (www.odyusa.com); and the Damron guides (www.damron.com), with separate, annual books for gay men and lesbians.
