Three gay couples in the northern city of Turin have been able to legally register their children to both parents, in a first for Italy.

"Today an important page of history has been written," said the mother of one of the children, Turin councillor Chiara Foglietta.

Foglietta, who gave birth after undergoing artificial insemination in Denmark, said staff at the public records office had told her "no form exists" to recognize the child's birth through the procedure, which is subject to strict rules in Italy.

Instead, the staff reportedly told Foglietta she should declare that she had had the baby with a man. On Monday, the councillor said she "cried with joy" after signing the documents in which both she and her partner, Micaela Ghisleni, were recognized as parents of their son.

The couple's son Niccolò was one of four children who were officially registered to same-sex parents on Monday, with city mayor Chiara Appendino signing the birth certificates. The other families included two men who are fathers to twin boys, and another lesbian couple whose son was officially recognized. Read more via the Local