More than 100 mothers hitched up their shirts and breastfed their babies in public here on Tuesday in a bid to tackle the Italian public's squeamish attitude to the issue.
The mothers had gathered in Rome's EUR district for the mega-feed, organised by mothers' association Salvamamme as part of the 'I'll suckle where I want' campaign.
Drawing attention to the fact that scantily clad women are a regular feature on prime time television in Italy, Salvamamme President Grazia Passeri said the country's relationship with breasts was not as it should be.
''People still give a start when they see a woman breastfeeding but they have to learn that a breast is not just a sexy object,'' she said.
''It's ridiculous that showgirls can show theirs but mothers can't,'' she added.
Gloria, one of the participants in Tuesday's group feed, agreed that Italians were still hung-up about women nursing in public.
''They give me evil looks, but I do it anyway,'' she said.
Salvamamme also renewed appeals for the government to slash the price of powdered milk in Italy, which it claims to be four times the price of the same product in Germany.
Euro MP Roberta Angelilli, who was also present at the event, said Italy has already asked the European Union for permission to get rid of VAT on baby products, with powdered milk first on the list.
