[Venue-selection] Milan

[Vittorio Bertola <[e-mail]>]

Hello,
 
being one of the not-so-many regular Italian attendees, I feel compelled to provide feedback for Milan.
 
In terms of assessing #6.1, I think Milan is a safe bet. It is the most international city in Italy and the most LGBTQ+-friendly one, with a large Pride parade and a well-established gay quarter around Porta Venezia [1]. According to Booking.com, Milan is the city with the highest number of gay-friendly accommodation structures in the world [2].
 
In terms of ethnic discrimination, as most of Europe, Italy suffers from some degree of hate towards Islamic and African immigrants. Moreover, in recent times, there have been cases of Islamic immigrants assaulting Jewish tourists [3], and of anti-semitic hate in general. I would advise some caution to Jewish participants if the meeting happened in the current state of Middle East affairs, but nothing bad is really likely to happen.
 
As a more general feedback, Milan would be an excellent choice in logistical terms. The city airport of Linate (LIN) is 15 minutes from the city centre by metro and has direct flights to most European capitals and hubs; the intercontinental airport of Malpensa (MXP) has direct connections to many major cities around the world; the low-cost airport of Bergamo (BGY) offers cheap, direct alternatives from almost any mid-sized city in Europe. The city's transport infrastructure is comprehensive and reliable, way better than Rome's; it has five metro lines, one underground city railway and direct high-speed train connections to several other Italian cities.
 
The only note is that - as far as I know - Allianz MiCo, the proposed venue, is a "pure" convention centre and does not include any hotel. There are some hotels within walking distance, but not inside the premises. On the other hand, the venue is directly reachable from the city centre via metro.
 
Also, a July meeting would most likely be very hot, with day temperatures up to 40°C. In general, given the rapid change of the summer climate all over continental Europe, I would really encourage the IETF to switch slots and have the European meeting in November and the North American meeting in July.
 
In any case, should you want to pursue this option, I would be happy to help the secretariat and/or whoever is acting as local promoter.
 
Best regards,
===
[1] https://nomadicboys.com/gay-milan/
[2] https://news.booking.com/it/milano-prima-al-mondo-per-strutture-lgbtq-friendly-su-bookingcom-ma-lultima-ricerca-della-piattaforma-rivela-che-molti-viaggiatori-continuano-a-nascondere-la-propria-identita/
[3] https://tg24.sky.it/cronaca/2026/03/03/turisti-kippah-aggressione-antisemita-milano

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Vittorio Bertola | Head of Policy & Innovation, Open-Xchange
[e-mail] mailto:[e-mail]
Office @ Via Treviso 12, 10144 Torino, Italy