New streetlights featuring gay and lesbian couples holding hands are to be installed in the centre of Turin.

The local council passed a motion backing the installation of lights replacing the little green man with little green same-sex couples.

They will be a first in Italy.

However, many conservative lawmakers boycotted the vote as a sign of protest.

The lights will be adopted ahead of the Torino Pride parade, which will take place on June 17.

The streetlights will be placed in the central area of the city where they will not have any traffic regulation function.

“It is a way to sensitise people of the topic of equal opportunities,” first district president, Massimo Guerrini, said.

The proposal was launched with the intention to manifest the values of respect and equality fighting discrimination based on sex or sexual orientation.

The streetlights will also serve as a way to increase LGBT tourism in the city.

“Turin is traditionally a gay friendly city so we thought to encourage LGBT tourism,” Turin’s mayor, Chiara Appendino, said.

Italy is slowly becoming more liberal towards LGBT rights and inclusion, and last year same-sex civil unions were legalised.

However the public opinion is still deeply influenced by the Catholic Church.

For this reason the initiative has sparked some criticism with people arguing that the administration should spend its limited money of different issues.

Another element of criticism came from the fact that the streetlights are not an original idea.

In fact, LGBT friendly streetlights are already a reality in other European capitals such as Vienna, where they were implemented in occasion of Eurovision in 2015.

Lights were installed in London for the city’s Pride celebrations last year, with Transport for London later deciding to keep them in place permanently.

The Daily Mail published a furious attack on London’s gay traffic lights in October – despite them already having been in place for several months with no incident.