There are very few Italians who have not been / are / will be or act "gay" at a given point of their lives . This said, Italy is the "gayest" place in the world, but not the way we may expect it. It is subtle, but omnipresent and starts at young age. And other good news: Italian men do not wear those unhygienic bacteria carrying horrible board shorts on the beach. Bulges are shown off proudly and bellies are not cared about.