Activists of Italian gay right groups hold public 'kiss-ins' in front of Rome's Colosseum,in protest of the arrest of two men caught by police kissing in front of the famous Rome monument in 2007.
In ancient Rome, plenty of public kissing went on in the shadow of the Coliseum, where lips smacked on hands, cheeks, rings and even feet, as simple greetings or formal signs of submission. The place is still a notable showcase of public affection, but one specific act of passion played out near the ancient monument has added fire to a very modern debate.
On Tuesday a Rome court ordered a trial for two men arrested in July 2007 outside the Coliseum. Michele F., 36, and Roberto L., 28, contend they were caught sharing a passionate kiss; the arresting officers from the carabinieri say they were engaging in oral sex. Defense lawyers have asked for the charges of lewd public acts to be dropped, having sought in vain to get access to footage from nearby security cameras that they say would show the kiss was just a kiss.
What might otherwise be an unremarkable case about public decency has become a cause célèbre for Italy's gay rights activists, who see the decision to push ahead with the prosecution of the case as blatant discrimination. "Homosexuality is being punished," said Aurelio Mancuso, head of the Arcigay association, "not an obscene act."
The court's decision comes as Rome's gay community says it faces increased discrimination from public officials and heightened violence from local homophobic thugs. Earlier this month, two 28-year-old men who'd been holding hands were beaten by a gang shouting "Faggots Get Out of Italy." This and other attacks, including a fire in February set at the "Coming Out" gay club, have occurred in the neighborhood near the Coliseum. The road in front of the ancient monument, via San Giovanni in Laterano, has been dubbed Gay Street for the prevalence of gay clubs and bars situated there.
Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno has denounced the acts of violence, but gay activists remain suspicious of him because of his affiliation with the National Alliance, a party that once espoused fascist ideas. Just a month after his election in April of this year, Alemanno disparaged Rome's annual Gay Pride parade as "an act of sexual exhibitionism."
The trial in the Coliseum case is scheduled to begin in February, and the defendants face maximum prison sentences of three years. At this stage it looks like a their-word-against-ours standoff, unless the security camera footage can be marshaled as evidence for one side or the other. Defense lawyer Daniele Stoppello has demanded access to the footage, even as he conceded that since the lighting was poor, the carabinieri could arrive at a "different interpretation" of what the camera showed the two men doing. Currently it's a moot point, since the prosecuting magistrate has ruled the footage as too "complex" to be judicially relevant.
The presence of security cameras has become an issue beyond this specific case. In the wake of the anti-gay violence, Alemanno recently called for more video surveillance near the Coliseum, but gay rights groups oppose the measure as a violation of their privacy. But if what the two defendants shared was indeed just an innocent kiss, an extra camera or two might have been an invasion of their privacy that could set them free.
(Click here for a gallery of some of the twentieth century's great romances.)