For centuries, gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender people have been killed, tortured, marginalized, and despised, simply because they were guilty of existing. Massimo Consoli, one of the first Italian homosexual activists, author of at least 40 essays, novels, biographies, theatrical works, has recently published his latest work ""Gay Manifesto""(Malatempora, pp.152, €11), which collects the first documents of the LGBT movement in our country.
The story told in this book is one of dreams, battles, and the desire to rebel, but also of defeat, pain, and disappointment. Consoli reminds us that we often forget that the oppressed need help. justice and dignity and to get them they have to do the revolution. Only a few decades ago, homosexual and transgender people lived almost clandestinely, suffered in silence, and were so conditioned by society that they didn't think they could claim their rights. Someone needed to shake non-heterosexual citizens out of their torpor and explain that their discriminated against status wasn't unavoidable and that 'there were times when their orientation and identities were perfectly integrated into society, with due respect that was sometimes raised to very high levels.' The author writes: «It's important to remember what was at the origin of our diverse community and the LGBT movement. Many years ago we were gay, today we are Italian citizens, members of a community. The only problem is that there are still some who don't seem to realize this. It's up to us to educate them..
The book reports the ""Amsterdam Charter"", drafted by Consoli himself in 1969, the first public European document calling for the recognition of homosexual rights. The document is also proposed again ""Manifesto for the Moral Revolution: 'Revolutionary Homosexuality'"‘ from 1971 composed of a series of interventions by people such as Peter Hahn, Dario Bellezza, Maurizio Bellotti, Françoise 'Eaubonne. «Everyone had something decisive to say – comments Consoli – and it is incredible that their message is so current that it must be studied if one wants to understand contemporary reality>>.
If the official birth of the Italian gay and lesbian movement dates back to 1972, with the protest against a conference that condemned sexuality without a reproductive purpose, in ""Gay Manifesto"" the ancient roots that are placed during the Renaissance. Already in the 15th century Florence was known throughout Europe for its liberal customs and for the widespread diffusion of homosexuality, to the point that in Germany to indicate a sodomite it was called ""Florentine"" (florenzer). The reputation of the Tuscan citizens was so influenced by this that even Genoa had a rule that prevented the hiring of teachers coming from that region for fear of putting the students' sexuality at risk. This situation did not have the approval of the Catholic Church who, despite the strong presence of sinners among its own ranks, pressured the civil authorities to implement a series of restrictive measures.
In 1432, the Tribunal of Sodomites was established in Florence, along with a special corps of guards, the "Night Officers," charged with investigating crimes related to homosexual relations. A few years later, in 1448, Lucca also established a similar body. Reports were often filed anonymously, placed in special boxes scattered throughout the city. One of the most notable victims was Leonardo da Vinci, accused of having an affair with a young man, Jacopo Saltarelli, but later acquitted. Saint Bernardino of Siena, During his homilies, he invited the faithful to spit on the floor of Santa Croce in Florence and shout "Burn all the sodomites!" and added the invitation "at least drive them out of the city, deprive them of their jobs." Savonarola also began preaching against sodomites and managed to convince the city government to enact even more restrictive laws than those already in force. The archives of the time preserve legal documents relating to at least 17,000 reported cases of sodomy over a period of approximately 70 years.
On August 31, 1512, a group of 30 young aristocrats who called themselves ""The Compagnacci"" he did raid on the Government Palace and asked the city council to repeal the sentences of those homosexuals who were forced into exile and to lose their jobs, guilty above all of not hiding their sexual orientation. On September 16, the Spanish forced Piero Sederini, head of the Great Council, to flee and allowed the Medici to return to the leadership of Florence, who immediately granted all the demands of the rebels. The insurrection of the "Compagnacci" can therefore be considered, centuries earlier, a precursor event to the Stonewall uprising of 1969. Consoli proposes to remember that episode by celebrating a World Pride in 2012 in Florence, five hundred years after the protest of Florentine homosexuals.
From "Liberazione", Saturday, June 3, 2006
