Ireos is a self-managed queer community centre on Via dei Serragli in the Oltrarno, just south of Ponte alla Carraia. It was founded in 1997 by people who had come through Arcigay and Arcilesbica, and it is run by volunteers.
The health side is what most visitors will want to know about. There is a clinic, free and anonymous HIV and hepatitis C testing by both blood sample and rapid capillary test, and psychologists who see people at the centre. A legal advice desk runs alongside them.
The rest is community work. Self-help and discussion groups meet in the building, including one for trans people. The documentation centre holds books, periodicals and video on queer culture, and the association puts on exhibitions and talks in its own rooms. It also runs the Florence Queer Festival, an international film festival.
The people in this picture are AI-generated.
