Italy Offers Much For Queer Travelers

Italy has been a romantic destination for ages-the country's combination of history, architecture, cuisine, and stunning geography has long made it a top destination for tourists. LGBTQ travelers are drawn to the European gem, as well, and have many options, from dynamic and active trips to laid back beach excursions to shopping adventures.

The recent IGLTA Convention in Milan showcased this city, one of the most beloved Italian destinations for LGBTQ travelers. We traveled with Quiiky Travel, a tour operator focused on LGBTQ experiences in Italy, including daylong experiences, multi-day tours, and even queer weddings and honeymoons. In all, the company offers nearly 50 different options, including some that are designated as "Untold History" experiences. Some of our favorites included:

-"A Gay Light on Leonardo da Vinci." The company actually offers three different Leonardo-oriented tours and the guides are members of the LGBTQ community, a touch that we enjoyed. Our guide, Corrado, explained that Da Vinci spent more of his life in Milan than he did in Florence. The famed painter, scientist, and inventor was ostracized for his homosexuality, and this tour follows in some of his footsteps. We were told about Salai, his handsome young scholar, model, and lover. We visited the Ambrosiana Gallery, and the tour often includes the Museum of Science, a visit to Leonardo's Vineyard, and the Leonardo 3D Museum.

-The new "House of Gucci Tour" examines not only some of the local history of this iconic designer family, but some of the movie locations used in the 2021 motion picture starring Al Pacino, Adam Driver, and Lady Gaga. We visited the magnificent grounds of Villa Necchi Campiglio, a mainstay in the movie, and currently a museum. We also toured the house itself, built in 1930. The tour can also include a visit to additional movie locations in Como, a short train ride away.

-The La Scala theater is certainly one of the most famous opera houses in the world, and Quiiky not only gave us a behind-the-scenes tour of the stunning building, but tickets to see the opera, Fedora. First-time opera attendees will be happy to learn that each seat has a closed-captioning system (in both Italian ad English), to better help audiences follow along with the story. The dazzling theater has been given a more modern stage and mechanicals, now allowing it to host 270-plus performances a year. We also learned plenty of the theater's history, including plenty of rumors about what some guests have done in cloak rooms and up in the balconies-behind closed curtains, of course.

In addition, we visited the largest outlet mall in Europe with Quiiky, the McArthur Glen Designer Outlet Serravalle. The mall is different than American outlets-here, the focus is on clothes with slight defects, but instead on high end designer clothing that's 6-9 months off from being new. The outlet makes for a fantastic day trip and is worth the time. We toured the city's magnificent Duomo (cathedral) and even got to stroll around on top of its roof, with stunning views of the city in every direction. We also walked around the fashion district in Milan with our guide, Corrado, learning about the newest brands as well as where to find the best deals and the hottest styles.

Queer Italy certainly doesn't stop with Milan. The company also features an assortment of very popular tours in Venice and Naples-and many queer adventurers also head to Rome or the scenic coastal cities of Puglia. The Puglia Guys has a great podcast focused on this region of the country, ideal for queer travelers.

Italy has grown a lot as a queer destination over the last decades, and local companies were thrilled to have landed the IGLTA Convention this year.

"Social sustainability is now an inescapable topic on the European agenda," said Alessio Virgili, CEO of Sonders & Beach Group. "Inclusive hospitality is not taken for granted, and it qualifies the tourism offer. My personal struggle, as an entrepreneur, and as an activist, is related to the LGBTQ+ community, but it is integrated with the richness that any diversity offers us. In 2002, I started by founding a company on this opportunity to arrive today at chairing an Italian group with an international outlook that bases its business on respect for diversity, equity, and inclusion."

Also of note in Italy is that Sonders & Beach and AITGL, the Italian LGBTQ Travel Association, recently launched the QueerVadis Certification Program, the world's first LGBTQ+ certification program to identify and certify hotels, destinations, and travel service providers that guarantee a safe and inclusive environment to all members of the LGBTQ+ community. QueerVadis is validated by the international certification body RINA. The goal is that travelers are guaranteed the freedom to be themselves without fear of harassment or judgement when patronizing certified businesses.

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