Sperlonga, a man wants to dine but the kitchen is closed: Neapolitan sets fire to the restaurant.

SPoerlonga – He demanded dinner when the kitchen was already closed, and when the restaurant owners refused, his anger exploded. A mid-July evening turned into a nightmare for the owners of a seaside restaurant, culminating in a full-blown arson attack.

The protagonist of the story is a 60 year old resident in the province of Naples, reported by the police of Sperlonga for threats, assault, damage followed by arson, and slander. The reconstruction, the result of an investigation based on witness statements and video surveillance footage, began on July 18.

According to investigators, the man—clearly in a state of distress—showed up at the restaurant demanding dinner, even though the kitchen was already closed. Not only did he harass the customers, but he also allegedly attempted to hit the two owners with a glass bottle, threatening to kill them. After leaving the restaurant, he threw rocks at the restaurant, causing panic among those present.

The tension didn't stop there. Later, at the end of the evening, the sixty-year-old allegedly encountered the wife of one of the owners while returning on her bicycle. He allegedly deliberately cut her off, causing her to fall and sustaining minor injuries.

Two days later, the revenge escalated. The man approached the restaurant again and set fire to some paper, throwing it onto the garbage bins outside. The flames, which could have turned into a blaze, were put out in time by the managers.

As if that were not enough, the 60-year-old then showed up at the police station reporting that he had been beaten up by the owners and employees, accusing them of having caused him "several fractures." But the investigations contradicted every word: no assault, no fractures, just unfounded accusations.

The man has now been charged and released. In the background, the bitterness of a community and tourism operators remains, who, in the height of summer, find themselves dealing with episodes of absurd violence, sparked by a simple "the kitchen is closed."