The man, clearly under the influence of alcohol or drugs, threatened the owners of the Tre Re restaurant with death
VITERBO – Another evening of horror on Tuesday evening in the historic centre, when a foreigner threatened customers and owners of the Tre Re restaurant in the central Piazza delle Erbe.
“We saw him coming from the square – says one of the owners of the business – he was clearly under the influence of some substance, alcohol or worse. He threatened us with death and then promised that he would also come back to rob us.” Everything, as the restaurateur then adds, took place under the incredulous eyes of the customers, who were obviously shocked by the “not too out of the ordinary” event.
“Here in the historic center, unfortunately, the situation is quite serious – continues the entrepreneur – the square should be redeveloped with events, lights… anything that can drive away certain people who are systematically here, managing to buy alcohol at a low price somewhere and they come to annoy us and our customers”.
On the spot, the intervention of the police who first removed the man and then intervened again a little further on, at another commercial activity in another square, where the drunk had gone, making threats again and creating problems for customers and owners.
The restaurateur’s complaints join those that have been accumulating for some time among traders throughout the historic centre. The area, as stated several times by many, has now become a no-man’s land and the latest events that occurred within a few days make this clear. Attacks in via Ascenzi, fights in Piazza del Plebiscito and now death threats in Piazza delle Erbe.
“We are abandoned to ourselves – a local entrepreneur stated many weeks ago – the administration doesn’t seem to care about the historic centre. We need fixed police checks, more lighting and any initiative to bring people out into the streets even in the evening. Only in this way will it be possible to change the fate of this city.”
Many now hope that the new Police Commissioner of Viterbo, Luigi Silipo, can finally remedy the situation. Already his predecessor, Fausto Vinci, had recently underlined how the city needed greater lighting and “attention” to combat degradation, particularly in the historic center.
