ROME, Italy (PNN) - January 18, 2021 - This weekend, over 50,000 restaurants in Italy began defying the country’s strict “anti-COVID” lockdown measures in a massive act of civil disobedience.

Italian restaurant owners have been spreading their “I Am Open” message through the social media hashtag #IoOpro (“I am opening”) and customers have turned the tables on the government.

The “I Am Open” movement started in Italy has already spread to other countries across the world, including Mexico,  Switzerland and Poland.