Five Years for a Joke About the Pope?

Far from scared by the proceeding against her, Guzzanti wrote on her Web site, "I feel honored for the charge raised against me... but before I start showing off could someone please check if I am the first one or if there have been similar cases before me? I am going to update my CV."

On her blog, the popular Italian comedian and actress encouraged fans to keep fighting for the freedom of speech and avoid being subdued by threats of lawsuit or other attacks.

A History of Controversy

Guzzanti is famous for her biting anti-establishment satire, and her No. 1 target has long been Berlusconi, whom the comedian, along with the majority of the Italian left wing, accuses of climbing the political ladder only to defend his own personal interests.

In a past appearance on Italian TV, Guzzanti impersonated Berlusconi, saying, "I am not going to sign the agreement for the European arrest warrant. One thing is to bribe an Italian judge to falsify the ruling of a trial, another thing is to bribe a slew of European judges. It's too expensive, and would suffocate any business activity."

And when a satirical TV program that she wrote for, the State TV, was censored in 2003, she struck back, presenting her side of the story in a documentary called "Viva Zapatero!," which was shown in cinemas all over Italy and won acclaim at the Venice and Sundance film festivals.

Catholics Offended by Pope Gay Reference

In a country that is home to the Catholic Church and where the majority of the citizens are Catholic, the jokes against the Pope have offended Italians who find it hard to associate the Pope with sexual and, even more upsetting for some, homosexual activity.

The organizers of the demonstration have distanced themselves from Guzzanti, and members of Berlusconi's coalition have shown support for the prosecutor.

"Her crime is not having expressed her opinions, but having insulted the Pope. Insults are not opinions, and therefore Ms. Guzzanti must be punished," Michele Scandroglio, a regional coordinator of Berlusconi's Party Forza Italia, told ABC News.