The Arcigay Naples bar
It's finally started to rain sparkling wine, not drops of humidity, in the new bar room of Arcigay in Naples. A brilliantly organized New Year's Eve party was also the occasion to introduce the association's members and friends to the newly renovated room. Pastel pink, ostentatious curtains, and eighteenth-century mirrors were the backdrop, the walls plastered with hours of painstaking work, the (still few) furnishings donated and patiently restored. Candles and a more romantic atmosphere graced the mezzanine, which mischievous Big Brother fans dubbed "the suite." Social and political commitments were momentarily set aside, a warm atmosphere characterized the 2005 inauguration party, attended by the entire Arcigay group, with music, games, intrigues, and a magical moment. Raimondo delivered dozens of gifts in enormous bags to all his friends.
The headquarters of the “Antinoo” Club, in Vico San Geronimo 17-20, a stone's throw from Piazza San Domenico Maggiore, consists of four non-communicating rooms on the ground floor of a 17th-century building. It was entrusted by the municipality to Arcigay of Naples in the early 1990s. The second room, at number 18, was the association's bar, closed for years due to serious water infiltration problems caused by a burst pipe in the apartment above (also owned by the municipality). Counseling services have been reduced in recent years due to only having one usable room, dedicated to counseling, initial reception, and meetings. Thanks to the tireless work of several volunteers, it has now been possible to move the large amount of material from the “Documentation Center” from the third to the fourth room, already home to the health counseling center and now also the library, open on Mondays. This has allowed us to reopen a recreation room in the third floor, dedicating the first room, with the telephone, to the more delicate services of listening and welcoming. "There's still a lot to do, especially because there's no money or volunteers," Enzo Sacco, the initiative's promoter, tells us, "but reopening a place for recreation, meeting, and celebration is important.
The Arcigay in Naples is very close to the’University And right in the historic center, that's why we'll also open during the day: the bar can be a quiet place to study or have breakfast between classes." "We expect masses of boys and girls, young and old, Neapolitans and Campanians who live their homosexuality only in chat," adds Antonio Cavallo, who launches an appeal to the digital population, "come and chat here, talking in person costs nothing and is good for your health, for love, and for your rights!" The name of the bar? "We haven't chosen it yet, and I really don't like the clandestine ones," points out Antonio, who, having shed his bricklayer's clothes for the gay cause, is a lawyer and collaborates with the chair of constitutional law at the "Federico II". Despite the injunction, however, many in Naples are starting to meet at the "Buchetto Bar", at Vico San Geronimo 19, open Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 5 to 9 pm.
Meanwhile, a date to keep in mind for members, friends and supporters of the Circolo Antinoo (which has a website with updated activities at the link https://www.arcigay.it/napoli).
The ordinary members' meeting, the Club's most important body, has been scheduled for February 7, 2005, at 6:30 p.m. This meeting will prepare for the National Congress in Bologna and the new membership year, which is shaping up to be a busy and, hopefully, rewarding year for the association and the Neapolitan LGBT community.
