On June 7, 2026, the municipality of Budrio, near Bologna, granted official patronage to “Piccolo Grande Pride”, an event promoted as inclusive for adults and minors alike. Local centre-right politicians have raised formal concerns with the Prefect of Bologna over the presence of pornographic merchandise and workshops visible to young attendees.

The gathering, held in the Maddalena di Cazzano district, featured children’s play areas, an art workshop and other “very colourful activities” organised with the involvement of associations focused on gender and queer themes for minors. Stalls displayed anatomically explicit items shaped like male and female genitalia in various sizes, alongside postcards, stickers and posters of a sexual nature, all potentially accessible to the youngest participants.

Journalist Tommaso Scandroglio, writing for La Nuova Bussola Quotidiana (The New Daily Compass), described the scene in detail, noting that such elements underscored the erotic dimension at the heart of many homo- and trans-related initiatives. The programme also included a session titled “Imagined Worlds and the Dismantling of Heteronormativity” and an erotic illustration workshop.

Budrio, administered by a centre-left council under Mayor Debora Badiali of the Partito Democratico, provided non-financial patronage and public space for the event. Councillors from Fratelli d’Italia have submitted questions in the regional assembly and notified the Prefect, seeking clarification on any public funding, direct or indirect, and the suitability of exposing minors to the content.

This episode forms part of a recurring pattern identified by Scandroglio. Earlier examples include the 2013 Pride event in Turin, dubbed “Family Pride”, where children from same-sex households led the procession, and similar inclusions in Palermo. He has referred to such phenomena as “Baby Pride”.

Broader context includes the 2010 Standards for Sexuality Education in Europe, issued by the WHO Regional Office for Europe and Germany’s Federal Centre for Health Education (BZgA). The document advocates comprehensive sexuality education beginning from birth, encompassing gender identities, eroticism and pleasure, while critiquing “informal” family-based approaches as insufficient. A 2014 Italian government initiative, “Educating Diversity at School”, was withdrawn following criticism of its explicit content for primary school pupils.

Catholic teaching, rooted in the Catechism of the Catholic Church and papal documents issued by recent pontiffs, upholds the inviolable dignity of the child and the primary role of the family in moral formation. It views the deliberate exposure of minors to adult sexual themes as contrary to the protection of innocence and the natural order of human development.

As the controversy unfolds in Budrio, it highlights ongoing debates in Italy and across Europe regarding the boundaries of public events, parental rights and the safeguarding of children amid ideological advocacy. Representatives of Fratelli d’Italia have emphasised that all citizens, including families with traditional views, deserve representation without state endorsement of contested programmes involving the young.

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