ROME — Rome's mayor has registered 16 gay marriages entered abroad in open defiance of Italy's Interior Ministry.

Gay marriage is illegal in Italy. Interior Minister Angelino Alfano recently sent a notice to local prefects saying any registrations of gay marriages celebrated abroad would be voided.

Rome Mayor Ignazio Marino received a standing ovation Saturday as he arrived in the city hall reception room where the couples, their children, friends and family gathered to make their marriages official in Rome's city ledger. One by one, the couples — gay and lesbian, some with as many as three children — were called up to witness Marino transcribe the date and locations of their weddings: Spain, Portugal, United States and elsewhere.

Marino said Saturday was an important day in the fight for human rights.