Overview

• Padua social-policy councillor Margherita Colonnello hung five rainbow bows on her Palazzo Moroni office door on August 16 to celebrate the August 14 birth of her son, Aronne.
• The display, anticipated in a Padova Pride speech in May, prompted criticism from Lega figures and allied conservatives who called it ideological propaganda.
• Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini questioned the choice, while Mariastella Gelmini said “we are born male or female,” and Lega deputy Rossano Sasso accused Colonnello of using a newborn for politics.
• Colonnello said on social media that her Pride remarks were distorted, clarified she did not ask her child to decide “to be male or female,” and described the bows as inclusive support.
• She reported a wave of online hostility and asked for privacy in the early days after the birth, and there were no reports of formal sanctions or legal actions.