It will gladly play host to giant cruise ships on its canals and hordes of tourists along its narrow, winding streets. But the city of Venice will not see fit to hold a gay pride parade as long as the current rightwing mayor is in charge, the politician has reportedly said.

Mayor Luigi Brugnaro was quoted as saying that gay pride marches were the “height of kitsch” and would not happen in Venice on his watch. “There will never be a gay pride in my city,” he was quoted as saying in La Repubblica. “Let them go and do it in Milan, or in front of their own homes.”

Brugnaro was criticised by Italy’s rights group Arcigay, which accused him of besmirching Venice’s reputation as an open, sophisticated society. Read More via the Guardian