Italy: Nudists to link up in protest against 'police repression'

Ravenna, 5 June (AKI) - Nudists in northeast Italy plan to stage two days of demonstrations to protest police "repression."

The Association of Emiliano Romagnola Naturalists (ANER) announced they will protest in one of the main squares in Ravenna on 16 June and the following day form a kilometres-long nude human chain at the city's Bassona Beach - a popular spot for nude sun bathing - to protest police fines.

"It will be a human chain, naturally nude," said Jean Pascal Marcacci, a lawyer who heads ANER. "We'll link hand-to-hand to reclaim the usability of our historically naturalist beach."

Nude beaches in Italy were legalized in 2006 when legislation was passed saying that beaches which were traditionally mostly for naturists could post signs declaring that clothing is optional. Bassona Beach, 1-kilometere long- is Italy's largest nude beach, according to travel web site Why go.com.