Franco Grillini, Honorary Citizen of Naples: "The LGBTQ+ movement has changed this country for the better, and changed it forever."“

Franco Grillini, activist, founder and honorary president of Arcigay, during a ceremony in the Sala dei Baroni of the Maschio Angioino, received Honorary Citizenship of Naples. “for its high civil, political, human and social value” and for its historical connection with the city of Naples.

Among the reasons for the award is Grillini's support, in 1996, for Naples' candidacy as the site of the national Gay Pride parade. These days mark the thirtieth anniversary of that event, the first major mobilization for LGBTQIA+ rights in Southern Italy.

“It is a recognition for the entire LGBT+ community, Neapolitan, Southern and Italian – declared Franco Grillini –That a public administration as important as that of Naples should award this recognition fills my heart with joy because it means that the movement has been effective, it has had an impact, it has changed this country and changed it for the better, it has changed it forever."”

“It was an initiative that started from the City Council – stated the Mayor of Naples Gaetano Manfredi – To commemorate an important moment for the city, thirty years ago, when the first Pride parade in Central and Southern Italy took place in Naples, at a very different historical moment in terms of rights than today. And Franco Grillini was the promoter of that initiative, which represented an important step towards a Naples that is always open to rights, always open to diversity.

“If we are here today – he declared Antonello Sannino, president of Antinoo Arcigay Naples, in his speech – If today we can walk with our heads held high, love one another in the light of day, if we can build a family, hope and fight for what is still missing (and it is a lot), we owe it to those, people like you, dear Franco, who, when there was above all darkness and shame, lit the beacon of hope and pride. Your personal story is the story of our liberation. Of our 'gentle revolution,' as you like to call it. And at a certain point, you intertwined with the destiny of this city. It was the mid-1990s. After the first courageous Pride in Rome in 1994, and the one in Bologna in 1995, you understood something fundamental: the movement needed the South. It needed warmth, people, to make its way not only within the institutions, but in the alleys, among the people.

The ceremony was also attended by Antonio Bassolino (who, the first Mayor in Italy, was in the front row with the tricolour sash at the 1996 Gay Pride) and his wife Anna Maria Carlone (who in 1982, together with Grillini, was the protagonist of the historic "capture of the Cassero" that led to the opening of the first gay club in Italy). During the event, a message from the Democratic Party secretary was also read. Elly Schlein of friendship and closeness and the Councillor for Sport and Equal Opportunities of the Municipality of Naples intervened, Emanuela Ferrante who recalled what happened thirty years ago and added:

“"For us, it's very important to recognize Grillini's Neapolitan citizenship because, from that moment on, a process of reflection has continued in Naples, which has also begun to translate into political proposals and attempts to resolve what, unfortunately, are still the countless problems that non-heterosexual people face in their daily lives, such as ongoing episodes of discrimination."”.