Google – AFP, 6 December 2013
Picture of
Christmas lights taken in the Via del Corso, one of the main
shopping street of
Rome, on December 6, 2013 (AFP, Gabriel Bouys)
|
Rome — The
gay rainbow-flag theme for the Christmas lights on Rome's main shopping street
that were switched on Friday have sparked an unholy row in the Eternal City.
City
assemblywoman Imma Battaglia said she and mayor Ignazio Marino had decided to
send a message with the multi-coloured lights, which ripple for a kilometre and
a half (0.9 miles) of the bustling Via del Corso.
Battaglia,
who also leads a gay rights campaign group, said the lights were intended to be
against homophobia following the suicide of a gay teenager in the city.
Christmas
lights are seen in the Via del
Corso, one of the main shopping street of
Rome, on December 6, 2013 (AFP,
Gabriel Bouys)
|
That did
not sit well with the opposition in the Italian capital's assembly, particularly
the far-right Fratelli d'Italia (Italian Brothers) party.
"The
idea is provocative and ideological. There should be an Italian tri-colour
instead," Fabrizio Ghera, an assemblyman from the party, said earlier.
The Italian
flag colours were used in 2011 to mark the 150th anniversary of Italian
unification, while the lights were white monochrome for Christmas last year.
The head of
the company behind the installation, Laura Rossi International, sought to
defuse controversy on Friday, saying the lights would now be dedicated to the
late anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela.
"This
way the message of love, tolerance, unity and sharing will become
stronger," Rossi said.
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