About
Costa dei Barbari is the gay and naturist stretch of coast for Trieste, about ten kilometres out of the city near Sistiana. It is rocky rather than sandy, a run of small coves and white stone below the karst cliffs, with clear water and no commercial services of any kind.
The usual approach is from Sistiana Mare. Drive down to the Castelreggio restaurant, take the coastal path that starts just past it, follow it around a working quarry and carry on until an old iron gate. The Costa dei Barbari begins there. Paths also come down from the road above. That walk is the reason the place stays quiet.
Most of the stretch is naturist. The busiest part is easy to recognise, marked by a small concrete hut on a large boulder beside the path and a little beach of white stones next to the remains of a white concrete jetty. The area runs from the Sistiana quarry at one end to the former Hotel Europa at the other, and it gets used well outside the summer whenever the sun is out.
Bring water and anything else you need. There is nothing to buy and no shade beyond what the rocks give you.
The law in Italy
Rainbow Index 24.11 %,
from the ILGA-Europe Rainbow Map,
which rates the legal and policy situation for LGBTQ+ people in each country.
Legal status
The history of LGBT rights in Italy is distinct from its European neighbors. It features a very early decriminalization (19th century) followed by a century of silence, where the influence of the Catholic Church and the Fascist legacy prevented the politicization of gay rights until very recently.
Here is the historical overview of the legalization of homosexuality and gay rights in Italy.
Phase I: The Napoleonic & "Zanardelli" Decriminalization (1800–1930)
Italy was one of the first nations to decriminalize homosexuality, largely due to the French influence during the Napoleonic wars, which spread the concept that "sins are not crimes."
1810: Parts of Italy under Napoleonic control adopt the French Penal Code, which does not criminalize sodomy.
1861 (Unification): Italy is unified. However, the laws are fragmented. The Kingdom of Sardinia (the unifier) initially kept laws punishing sodomy, while the south (Naples) did not.
1889: Decriminalization. The new unified Penal Code (the Zanardelli Code) is enacted.
It completely abolishes the crime of homosexual acts between consenting adults.
This made Italy a haven for gay artists and writers (like Oscar Wilde) fleeing persecution in Britain and Germany at the turn of the century.
Phase II: The Fascist "Silence" (1930–1945)
Under Mussolini, the regime considered re-criminalizing homosexuality but ultimately decided against it for a unique propaganda reason: claiming that Italians were "too virile" to be gay.
1930: The Rocco Code is enacted. The draft initially included penalties for homosexuality, but the provision was removed. The Justice Minister argued that a law was unnecessary because "this abomination does not exist in the Italian race."
Reality (Confino): While technically legal, gay men were severely persecuted under "public morality" laws. Thousands were arrested and sent to internal exile (confino) on remote islands like the Tremiti Islands, without trial, simply for being "suspected" of homosexuality.
Phase III: The "Catholic Stagnation" (1945–2015)
For 70 years after WWII, Italy lagged behind Western Europe. The strong political influence of the Vatican (through the Christian Democracy party) blocked almost all pro-LGBT legislation.
1982: Gender Transition Legalized. Italy passes Law 164, allowing transgender people to legally change their gender.
Note: Italy was actually ahead of the curve here, passing this long before many other rights. However, it strictly required sexual reassignment surgery (sterilization).
2003: An EU directive forces Italy to pass a decree banning discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment (but not in housing or goods/services).
2015: Sterilization Requirement Removed. The Court of Cassation and Constitutional Court rule that surgery is not mandatory for legal gender change, ending the sterilization requirement.
Phase IV: The "Legge Cirinnà" Breakthrough (2016)
Italy was the last major Western European country to grant no recognition to same-sex couples. This changed only after the European Court of Human Rights condemned Italy for human rights violations.
2016 (May): Civil Unions (Unioni Civili) Legalized.
Drafted by Senator Monica Cirinnà, the law grants same-sex couples most of the rights of marriage (inheritance, pension, name change).
The "Stepchild" Compromise: To pass the bill against Catholic opposition, the provision for stepchild adoption (adopting a partner's child) was cut from the text. This left children of same-sex families in a legal limbo, dependent on individual judges.
Phase V: The Battle for Parenthood (2017–Present)
Since 2016, the conflict has shifted entirely to the rights of children ("Rainbow Families"). The country has swung between judicial victories and government crackdowns.
2021: The "Zan Bill" (a hate crime law protecting LGBT people) is defeated in the Senate after intense opposition from the Vatican and right-wing parties.
2023 (The Crackdown): The conservative government issues a circular ordering municipalities to stop registering both parents of same-sex couples on birth certificates. In cities like Padua, prosecutors even retroactively challenged birth certificates of children born years prior, attempting to remove the non-biological mother's name.
2024–2025 (Judicial Pushback): The courts intervene to protect children.
2025 (May): The Constitutional Court rules (Sentence 68/2025) that prohibiting the recognition of the non-biological mother in lesbian couples who used medically assisted reproduction is unconstitutional. The court orders that children must have two legal parents from birth to protect the child's identity.
Travel tips
Italy is generally safe in major cities. Rome, Milan, Bologna, and Turin have gay scenes. Public displays of affection may attract attention. Southern regions tend to be more conservative. Pride events in major cities.
More about LGBTQ+ rights in Italy
