Catania is one of Sicily’s most vibrant cities today, known for its LGBTQ+ community and nightlife. Yet behind this contemporary openness lies a tragic and largely forgotten history of persecution, repression, and survival.

During the Fascist regime, Catania became one of the Italian cities where homosexuality was most harshly targeted. In 1939, a major police operation led to the arrest and deportation of dozens of gay men, forcibly removed from their homes and sent into internal exile. Testimonies from the period reveal the humiliation and violence inflicted upon them, as Fascist authorities attempted to police sexuality through rigid and degrading classifications based on gender roles rather than acts of affection.

Fascism was less concerned with same-sex love itself than with the subversion of traditional gender roles. The distinction between “active” and “passive” partners was central to Fascist ideology, which equated masculinity with power, dominance, and national strength. This obsession also exposed the regime’s hypocrisy: while poorer men were persecuted, members of the aristocracy and landowning classes were often protected, preserving Sicily’s deeply unequal social structure.

At the time, the male ballroom in Piazza Sant’Antonio was closely monitored by the Fascist police. It was one of the rare spaces where men met discreetly, sometimes as lovers, sometimes as clients and sex workers, reflecting the extreme poverty of the era. When the police carried out the 1939 raid, only those deemed “undesirable” were targeted, while wealthy patrons were deliberately ignored.

Despite the presence of Blackshirt patrols, gay men continued to navigate the city using a silent language of glances and gestures. Via Etnea, narrow streets, and hidden corners became places of recognition and connection—never fully safe, yet deeply human. Love and desire persisted even under constant threat.

The tour begins with a walk through the historic center, stopping at the Cathedral (Duomo) and the Elephant Fountain, part of Catania’s UNESCO-listed heritage. It then continues to Castello Ursino, a long-standing meeting point for generations of men known locally as arrusi and masculi, reflecting deeply rooted local terminology and social codes.

Crossing the old neighborhoods, you will learn about one of Italy’s earliest male-only ballrooms, a unique feature that once distinguished Catania from other cities before its destruction during Fascist repression. Other key sites include the Benedictine Monastery, Piazza Roma, and Villa Bellini, places associated with cruising and clandestine encounters during the most difficult years.

The journey then leads to the former San Berillo district, Catania’s historic red-light area, where prostitution became the only means of survival for many gay men facing poverty and social exclusion.

A deeply moving stop is Via Alessi, near the legendary “arvuru russu”—the “red tree.” Once a symbol of one of the largest gay communities in Italy during the 1930s, the tree still bears visible scars from that time. Here, many men were arrested, deported, and killed. The wound in its trunk remains a silent witness to this tragedy.

Today, Catania’s gay life has been reborn. Associations, including the local branch of Arcigay, alongside gay-friendly bars, clubs, and cultural spaces, animate the city once again. This tour is both a walk through pain and memory and a celebration of resilience, reclaiming a city where LGBTQ+ people are once again free to express themselves.