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Same-sex marriage or civil unions are legal throughout Western Europe, including many traditionally Catholic countries. The last holdout is Italy, where the Senate is about to take up a bill on Thursday that would legalize civil unions — though it would not authorize gay marriage. 

Tens of thousands of Italians took to the streets last weekend in some 100 cities demanding legalization of civil unions, including those of gay and lesbian couples.

"Italy, it‘s time to wake up," they shouted.

The rallies were organized by LGBT activists and their supporters, who said they have grown impatient as they watched their European neighbors legalize same-sex marriage or civil unions.

Carlo Terriaca, who has a gay son, attended the Rome rally. After retiring from his job as a bank manager, Terriaca became president of an association of parents of LGBT children. 

"I think in the last 10 years, Italian society has been deeply changing, particularly the new generation, you have quite a different feeling about this," he said.

One of those young people is Alessandro Piavani, 22, who sees the civil unions bill as a crucial human rights issue for the entire society.

"Because it‘s a sign of modernity and [a move] forward in the right direction to rights for all, not just for bisexual, homosexual people. But for all," he said.

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