Gay Street (Via di San Giovanni in Laterano)

Rome's gay street begins, improbably and perfectly, at the Colosseum. Via di San Giovanni in Laterano — running from the amphitheatre toward the papal basilica of St John Lateran — has been the city's openly gay strip since the bar Coming Out planted its flag at No. 8 in 2001. In 2007 the city made it official: an opening ceremony led by Arcigay, attended by national and municipal politicians, recognised the block as Gay Street. In Berlusconi-era Italy, with the Vatican's basilica a few hundred metres away, the gesture carried weight that a rainbow flag in Amsterdam never had to. What you see today: flags flying year-round, Coming Out's terrace facing the Colosseum, and a compact evening scene that swells on weekends — the visible heart of gay Rome, in the most historically loaded location any gay street occupies anywhere.