Sardinia is uniting for an LGBT pride parade on the beach which will teach the island about gay families and transphobia.

The announcement of the event's details comes after the first pride, last year, was attacked by right-wing politicians who declared the Mediterranean island doesn't need the event.

The ‘Queeresima’ – 40 days of events – will culminate in the final parade on the beach on 29 June. But there’s more to the festival than music and drag queens.

The island of Malta puts the ‘hidden gem’ cliché to shame. With its secluded beaches and vibrant nightlife scene,  Arabic-sounding language and Sicilian-inspired cuisine, Malta is the ultimate Mediterranean melting pot to explore.

With the an array of gay and gay-friendly bars, beaches and bistros, the Catholic nation proves itself to be extremely attractive for a romantic couple’s getaway or a weekend adventure with friends.

Malta may be one of the world's smallest independent states, but a visit to its shores proves that it deserves a big reputation.

Malta and its sister islands Gozo and Comino have a history that traces back 7,000 years and a climate that claims to offer 300 days of sunshine a year. Add to that the traditional Mediterranean dishes served by friendly inhabitants, the impressive limestone palaces and churches that dominate the scenery and a festive annual Carnival celebration, and it becomes clear that the Maltese clearly know how to do big things right.

Gay and lesbian couples in Malta are closer to achieving partnership rights after both the island nation’s leading parties backed the idea.

The Malta Gay Rights Movement (MGRM) told Gay Star News they now hope to have civil partnerships in the next five years and marriage equality within 10.

The Mediterranean archipelago is currently preparing for elections on 9 March with the ruling Nationalist Party (Partit Nazzjonalista or PN) going head to head with the Labour Party.

A Serbian citizen has obtained an Italian visa for having married his gay Italian partner in Canada, even though Italy does not recognize same-sex marriages or civil partnerships.

Djiordje, born in Serbia, has been given the ‘permesso di soggiorno’, a temporary visa which is the first step to the permanent one, by Milan’s Questura – in Italy visas are given by the police.

He married Adrian, half Italian and half Canadian, in 2009, then he moved to Italy and, supported by Certi Diritti association, tried to obtain the paper.

Lebanon is a melting pot of European, Mediterranean, eastern and western cultures.

The St Georges Beach and Marina is the best example of this and is the best place for those who wish to mix and mingle with the locals. Here the hottest beauties the city has to offer lounge around in their swimwear. Sadly photography is not permitted but Zaitunay Bay is THE marina in Lebanon where the largest yachts and all that goes with them can be found.

Going to Malta is enjoying several holidays in one. When you land at the airport, you see the yellow of the limestone houses, the blue of the sky and the azure of the Mediterranean sea: but, most of all, you can feel immediately that you are somewhere unique.

Malta is a blend: British culture, Arabian faces, Italian mood. Valletta, the capital, is a jewel with over 300 monuments, 55 hectars of limestone houses, palaces, churches and forts. The sea is all around, to your left and right. Sunsets are always orange, mornings are always bright.

Italian MP Anna Paola Concia is in a German civil union with her partner Ricarda. But her rights are not recognized in Rome.

It happens to hundreds of couples in the Mediterranean country, who got married and are not recognized by the state.

But Concia is confident Italy will soon change its mind and allow same-sex unions. She told Gay Star News: ‘It will happen in four or five years, marriage equality is an idea that has spread and that now is unstoppable. And the European Union can make a difference.’

I have spent too many years of my life miserably scanning restaurant menus for low-carb, low-fat and, inevitably, low-fun meal options.

What I’ve never understood is that when you travel through Mediterranean countries, and it was Italy where it particularly hit me, the men are generally lean and athletic and they are happily chowing into big bowls of pasta. Some bread with that? Sure! Wash it down with some wine at lunch? No problem!

As I contemplate a dry chicken salad, the injustice is infuriating.

Italy has more to offer than just sun, sea and cultural treasures. The Mediterranean country holds many secrets and we take a trip through the weirdest things our readers can experience there.

Eat at Cencio La Parolaccia in Rome

This traditional Roman ‘osteria’ is one of the weirdest places to visit in the Italian capital. The food is great, of course, but the waiters swear at you.

Flamingos, flamingos everywhere. When you land in Cagliari you find these exotic tropical birds crowded onto one of the biggest Europe’s lagoons, the Laguna di Santa Gilla, next to the airport.

Spring is the perfect time to be here; when thousands of chicks, called ‘pulle’, are just few weeks old. And now Cagliari, the small, cosmopolitan ‘capital’ of Sardinia, is pinker than ever. And not only because of the flamingos, it is also the most gay-friendly city of Sardinia, the ‘Caribbean’ island between Spain and Italy.