The Cassero is Bologna's LGBTQIA+ centre and the local Arcigay branch, and Arcigay's national office sits at the same address. It began in 1977 as a students' collective and took the Cassero name in 1982, when a campaign backed by 10,000 people won it the old gatehouse at Porta Saragozza. Since 2002 it has occupied the Salara, a former salt warehouse in the Manifattura delle Arti, with the Cineteca and the MAMbo modern art museum as neighbours.
Club nights pay for everything else, and there are several a week: queer disco, lesbian nights, bear parties, techno residencies. The house rule is posted plainly, racism, sexism and homolesbobitransphobia stay outside. In warmer months the programme moves into the open air as L'Altra Sponda, with DJ sets, drag, ballroom, comedy and aperitivi.
The rest of the building works as a community centre. There is a legal advice desk, psychological counselling, sexual health work, an archive and documentation centre, and the monthly magazine La Falla. Cassero also produces Gender Bender, an international festival of dance, film, theatre and performance that spreads across venues all over the city.
Entry needs a membership card, which is sold at the door.
The people in this picture are AI-generated.
