*LGBTI, PRIDE WAVE REACHES THE MIDDLE POINT: TOMORROW PROTESTS IN NAPLES, BOLOGNA, SYRACUSE AND FROSINONE* Bologna, June 21, 2019 – With just a few days to go until June 28, the day marking the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising, the Pride Wave, the large-scale pride mobilization organized by Arcigay and other LGBTI associations, is preparing to color the country with four more marches, adding to the twenty that have already demonstrated in recent weeks and therefore marking the halfway point towards the milestone of forty demonstrations, a record number for 2019. Tomorrow, therefore, will be a Pride celebration in Naples, which will meet at 4 pm in Piazza Dante; the Lazio Pride parade will instead be in Frosinone, starting at 3:30 pm from Piazza Salvo D'Acquisto; Bologna Pride will meet at 2:30 PM in Piazzale Jacchia, inside the Giardini Margherita; Siracusa Pride will begin its march at 6 PM in the Giardini del Foro Siracusano. "These four new rainbow marches," comments Gabriele Piazzoni, Arcigay's general secretary, "mark the turning point of our Pride season and lead us to the celebrations for the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots and World Pride in New York on June 30, already heralded as the largest demonstration in history. We strongly feel these days' connection with the uprisings that fifty years ago marked the beginning of our mobilization. And, equally, we feel the bond these days forge between small towns, cities that perhaps are experiencing Pride for the first time, and the metropolises where millions of people take to the streets: in both the former and the latter, pride is a fundamental ingredient, because it builds social cohesion and strengthens the culture of welcome, which we so desperately need. Pride parades, in these times, are the good news: the images of our marches have the power to give us confidence and optimism and to reinvigorate our fight. In just 50 years, the community LGBTI has brought about an extraordinary transformation, it's there for all to see. The years to come will be equally revolutionary, against all odds: this is the commitment we are making," concludes Piazzoni. www.ondapride.it
