Rome’s first same-sex civil union took place this weekend
By Will Stroude
The city of Rome has ushered in a new era of love and equality after hosting its first ever same-sex civil union over the weekend.
Saturday’s historic nuptials between local couple Francisco Raffaele Villarusso, 43 and Luca de Sario, 30, were officiated by the Mayor of Rome herself, Virginia Raggi.
The happy day came three months after Italy became the last major country in Western Europe to legalise civil unions. The law, which was passed in May this year, faced fierce opposition from the Roman Catholic Church, resulting in huge protests taking place across the country.
According to Euronews, Villarusso and Luca de Sario had moved to Spain in order to wed and have their relationship legally recognised, but decided to move back home to marry after the bill was approved.
Despite Italy’s progress on LGBTI equality, the country’s Civil Union bill has come under fire after a clause allowing gay couples to adopt their partners’ biological children automatically was scrapped during the bill’s early stages.
It’s also been reported that same-sex couple may face greater difficulties than heterosexual couples when it comes to changing or joining surnames, with implications for both tax and identity documents.
Watch a Euronews report on Francisco and Luca’s nuptials below:
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