ABSTRACT
Italy is today a notable exception in Western Europe, where all other countries have approved laws legalizing same-sex civil unions or full-fledged marriages. The LGBT organizations also kept the attention level high by staging events such as mock same-sex marriages in Rome and other cities. This chapter discusses the legal recognition of same-sex unions shows several interesting features. It shows the Catholic associational world was able to gain a high visibility, in a context marked out by a strong political campaign on the issue and deeply influenced by the Catholic Church's activism. This is not mirrored by non political actors such as LGBT activists and organizations, who have less voice in the Italian media sphere than in other EU countries. This weakness of LGBT organizations in civil society and their difficulties in accessing the national media marks a first, big difference between Italy and several other European states, in which a stronger civil society has been active for decades.
