Italian Women Stands Her Ground: 'I Will Never Keep My Business Closed' (Videos)

Rosanna Spatari, the owner of La Torteria bar in Italy, refuses to close her establishment, even after eight police officers try to force her to close. The restaurant owner demanded police leave as she voiced her frustration with authorities for enforcing politicians’ orders to close businesses.

Spatari’s brother and many customers rallied and cheered in support of her when police arrived. “Aren’t you ashamed of doing what you guys are doing?” she shouted at the police. “You never go after the criminals, only the people who work!”

Over a hundred people stopped to witness the commotion in front of the popular establishment. Spatari urged onlookers to stop wearing masks and adhering to the state’s senseless demands.

Despite many onlookers and customers supporting Spatari and La Torteria bar, the authorities decided to punish her anyway. In addition to paying fines issued by police, she was criminally charged for not complying with previous demands to close her restaurant. A fed-up Spatari responded to police, “What I do is legal; I have to be able to work…I will never keep my business closed”:

See full video here:

La Torteria bar has already been sanctioned multiple times for violating Italy’s coronavirus mandates. In the past few weeks, over 40 customers have been ticketed by police for eating at the restaurant. Now the state is trying to suspend her commercial license and shut down her business for good.

The politicians and police in Italy are still collecting paychecks while small business owners like Spatari cannot make money to live. For months, restaurant owners across Italy have been holding rallies to protest government forced closures of businesses in the name of combating the coronavirus.

Just recently, RAIR Foundation USA reported on a rally In Piazza Montecitorio in Rome, organized by restaurateurs. The demonstrators pleaded for the ability to work again, pay their bills, and save their collapsing businesses.

Sandra Di Bella of the ‘Independent Sicilian Restaurateurs’ movement attended the rally in Rome to plead for restaurants to open again. Di Bella questioned why her industry is being targeted while other businesses throughout Italy remain open.

…we need to open our restaurants. We, too, need to work. They only made restaurants, pizzerias and cafés close. Enough is enough. Fourteen months without working. Fourteen months without funds. Fourteen months paying bills, rent and they didn’t even block evictions.

The left-wing media “reporter” interviewing Sandra Di Bella tried to discredit her, and the restaurateur protests by linking her headgear to Jake Angeli. Thankfully, Di Bella did not engage or fall for his smear tactic and continued explaining the dire need for people to get back to work. Furthermore, she voiced her support of police:

We just want to be heard by a government that doesn’t hear us. The police are doing their job. And rightfully so, because I would like to do my job, too.

As reported previously at RAIR, small businesses in Italy have been particularly hard hit and massively disadvantaged compared to big businesses. Many of the larger businesses are allowed to stay open and are thriving. In contrast, restaurants, gyms, small retailers, etc., have had to close for long periods of time or operate under paralyzing restrictions.

Small business owners represent everything the left despises: free-market capitalism, individualism, and property rights. Small businesses are not unionized, so they cannot be controlled by the left.