“No Jews Allowed” was the sign placed outside public establishments in Nazi Germany.
“"No Negroes Allowed" could be seen outside some bars and hotels in the United States until the 1960s. Today, gays and lesbians find themselves subjected to discrimination that is all the more hateful because they are not protected by specific legislation, which Italian homosexual organizations have been advocating for years.
The last case concerns a Rome Bed & Breakfast, located on Via Coppedè and advertised on the website "Wonderful Italy" (www.wonderful-italy.it). The site hosts a number of associations that provide Bed & Breakfast services. Among these is the "Il Torrente" Association (www.assotorrente.it), Rome, Via Formellese, 62, Tel. 06 30880621), specializing in B&Bs in the capital. Among the advertised accommodations is an apartment on Via Coppedè where, for 60,000 lire a day, anyone can find accommodations while visiting the capital. Everyone? Not exactly, because among the B&B's features, in addition to fax, internet, and washing machine, one stands out, more worthy of pre-Mandela South Africa than a European Union country. Exclusions: Homosexuals.
A personal condition expressly protected from discrimination by both the Treaty of Amsterdam and the more recent Charter of Nice is subject to exclusion from a service that, as a Bed & Breakfast, receives public funding. We ask the Rome Police Commissioner and the City Council to verify the existence of the requirements to operate this activity, given this highly and explicitly discriminatory and unconstitutional act that casts a shadow not only on the operator itself, but on the very image of Rome as an open and welcoming city.
We invite all democratic citizens to boycott the Bed & Breakfasts provided by the “Il Torrente” Association and the “Wonderful Italy” website, until they have removed the operator in question from their lists.
‘Arcigay reserves the right to take legal action to protect the reputation of its members from discrimination and objective defamation.
Sergio Lo Giudice
National President of Arcigay
