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Video: Bears in the Village 2009, with DJ Alex B
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Rome is a controversial place for gay men. Remember your gay fantasies when you watched those movies with Roman soldiers and gladiators? See the whole world admiring the sculptures of gorgeous men by gay artists in Rome's museums? Capital of a big, free and democratic country? Don't expect too much from all that regarding the gay scene. Be it for reasons of mentality or because the Pope power reaches also outside the walls of the Vatican City, Rome has by far not the open and colourful gay life as other capitals in Europe.
For many gay venues you have to ring a bell to get in. (Maybe this is to keep the hypocritical cardinals out of the play rooms? ;-)
But the situation starts to change with a new generation of more open and self-confident gay men, as the ›Gayvillage‹ open-air summer (with movies, shops, music, performances, parties) and other events show.
As you can see on our Gay Map Rome,
there are no particular gay areas in Rome.
The advantage is that you can explore the different parts of Rome also at night
while you go to your favourite
bars and
clubs – no kidding!
After 23:00 you will often have to take a taxi or bus; regular night busses start
from the bus terminal in front of the railway central station ›Termini‹.
Like everywhere in Italy, a membership card is required for all gay saunas and cruising bars, usually the Arcigay UNO CLUB card. In Rome, the Arcigay card is also required for some of the gay parties. If you don't have an Arcigay card yet, you can usually acquire it at the entrance of the venues that require the card. (For foreigners it is 8 € for 3 months. When you acquire the card you need to show your photo ID card; after that you only need the membership card.)