A gay man was victim of a brutal homophobic attack in Italy last week.

Leonardo, 53, was in the courtyard of his apartment building in Turin, a city in the north of Italy.

Gay man beaten by 12 young men in Italy

A dozen young people surrounded the man and demanded his cigarettes.

The thugs, who knew he was gay as he lives in the building with his male partner, began attacking him with homophobic insults.

They attacked him, calling him an ugly ‘ricchione’ – an Italian slur similar to the slur ‘faggot’.

Leonardo suffered a broken nose, his septum fractured, and received multiple bruises and injuries. He also suffered internal bleeding.

The victim was also robbed of his bag and house keys.

Leonardo was taken to Molineette Hospita where he will remain until at least February.

‘Witnesses saw the beating and chose not to intervene’

Francesca Puopolo, of LGBTI rights group Turin Arcigay, condemned the attack.

‘This group of a dozen young homophobic thugs are cowards, hiding in the safety of numbers.

‘What makes matters worse is that the neighbors were indifferent. Many witnesses saw the beating and chose not to intervene.

‘Our current national political climate shows the same deafening indifference towards hate crime.

‘It is also urgent and necessary to raise awareness.’

Marco Giusta, representing the City of Turin, also condemned the incident.

‘I have already written to the assaulted person and to the municipal police to offer my availability.

‘Hopefully, with the right support, we’ll give this person the justice they deserve.’

Other homophobic attacks in Italy

This attack is similar to one that happened in Tuscany in October.

A group of homophobes attacked an Italian gay couple walking home.

Marco Barone and his boyfriend Christian Murgo were taking a walk through the historic center of Pisa, Tuscany, on the night of 4 October.

Teenagers approached the couple at 11pm.

‘Are you faggots?’ one of them asked the couple.

The slurs were also followed by punches and spits. Barone had his glasses smashed on his face and had to rush to the hospital.

Italy does not have a law that considers homophobic, biophobic and transphobic attacks as a hate crime.