Smooch! Vogue Italia celebrates same-sex love

The Italian edition of Vogue magazine is celebrating love in all its forms with alternative covers featuring same-sex couples kissing.

The fashion bible’s male-on-male cover shows model Edoardo Velicskov and his real-life boyfriend, Pablo Rousson, about to lock lips, up close and personal.

The female image is of models Lily Aldridge and Vittoria Ceretti, caught in an intimate moment in a field.

The covers include the word “bacio,” which means kiss in Italian.

A different-sex couple, Carla Boscono and Federico Spinas, is depicted on a third and final cover variation for the month of September.

The images were shot by photographer duo Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott and were revealed on Instagram by the magazine’s new editor-in-chief, Emanuele Farneti.

He captioned the images with “kiss is kiss”, while model Spinas commented, “That’s the reason why I started modelling and the result of a long way to a new beginning.”

The magazine also shot a sexy video of various gorgeous model couples smooching it up for the camera.

Vogue’s efforts to promote tolerance towards gays and lesbians will undoubtedly be welcomed by the country’s LGBT community.

Thanks to the powerful influence of the Catholic Church, Italy lags behind much of Europe in regard to the acceptance of same-sex love.

It was only in May last year that it became the last Western European nation to legally acknowledge same-sex relationships when lawmakers voted to pass a civil union bill in parliament. It has, however, yet to legalise full marriage equality.

#Repost @mertalas ・・・ B A C I O ? kiss is kiss ?september issue of new Italian vogue with my favorites @lilyaldridge and @vittoceretti ⭐️Editor in chief @efarneti Creative director @gb65 ?#thenewvogueitalia #itsallaboutitaly #mertandmarcus @vogueitalia Hair @cyndiaharvey makeup @isamayaffrench sets @andrea_stanley_

A post shared by Emanuele Farneti (@efarneti) on Aug 27, 2017 at 5:32am PDT

#Repost @mertalas ・・・ B A C I O ? kiss is kiss ?september issue of new Italian vogue with @lil.pabs and @e_velicskv ⭐️ styled by @alastairmckimm ?Editor in chief @efarneti Creative director @gb65 ?#thenewvogueitalia #itsallaboutitaly #mertandmarcus @vogueitalia Hair @cyndiaharvey makeup @isamayaffrench sets @andrea_stanley_ #onelove

A post shared by Emanuele Farneti (@efarneti) on Aug 27, 2017 at 7:35am PDT

#thenewvogueitalia #itsallaboutitaly Era solo un bacio ? by #mertandmarcus @mertalas @macpiggott styled by @alastairmckimm Editor in chief @efarneti Creative director @gb65 Full Cover + Fold-Out Credits Fashion: @prada #prada #MariacarlaBoscono @ Elite Milano @iosonomariacarlaboscono Federico Spinas @ I Love Management Lily Aldridge @ Img Models @lilyaldridge Vittoria Ceretti @ Elite Milano @vittoceretti Pablo Rousson e Edoardo Velickskov Casting Piergiorgio Del Moro @pg_dmcasting and Samuel Ellis Scheinman @samuel_ellis Hair Cyndia Harvey @ Streeters @cyndiaharvey Make-up Isamaya Ffrench @ Streeters @isamayaffrench Manicure Mary Soul using Chanel Le Vernis Set design Andrea Stanley @ Streeters On set Across Media Productions

A post shared by Emanuele Farneti (@efarneti) on Aug 27, 2017 at 8:37am PDT

#thenewvogueitalia ?#itsallaboutitaly ?? Bacio! ? by @mertalas and @macpiggott Editor in chief @efarneti Creative director @gb65 video directed by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott shot and edited by @cpxnyc

A post shared by Vogue Italia (@vogueitalia) on Aug 27, 2017 at 6:58am PDT