Torre Pride Fest turns the Marina di Torre del Lago into a queer village for most of August. It runs along Viale Europa, the strip that ends at the sand, and the programme follows the day: beach parties and aperitivi in the afternoon, terraces in the early evening, drag shows and DJ sets in the club until it gets light.
Drag carries the nights. Almost every one has its own theme and its own cast, and the national contest Il Gay Più Bello d'Italia holds its semi-final and final inside the same weeks.
Four venues share the programme, all of them a few minutes' walk apart:
Mamamia,
Baddy,
Boca and
Mama Beach.
Torre del Lago has been the main Italian gay summer destination since the late 1990s, and this is the month the town is fullest. The nearest station is Torre del Lago Puccini, about two kilometres inland from the Marina.
