About 150 employees of the grand hotel «La Sonrisa», known to the general public and television audience as «the wedding castle», confiscated and entrusted to the municipality of Sant'Antonio Abate in Naples, are trembling for their occupational future.
The famous location is experiencing a rain of cancellations from couples who wanted to celebrate their weddings in the famous restaurant-hotel and even if the structure remains open, the future remains uncertain. «We learned only from the media about the sentence that concerns our source of work», says Emma, a receptionist. «We are experiencing moments of deep anguish and uncertainty, because we want to continue working. Among us there are families who pay a mortgage, the rent of the house, who have children to maintain at the university and we would like to be reassured about our future».
Today at the wedding castle, a 5-star hotel, waiters, chefs, room staff and everyone involved in the large reception company - in addition to the employees there are over 150 people - are dealing with a previously planned event. «There are couples of spouses for whom wedding ceremonies are already organized from here to the next few months, who have sent the invitations and have invested a lot on the party for their most beautiful day», adds Emma, who speaks on behalf of her colleagues. «They ask us what is happening. And we, who have always respected the clientele by welcoming and assisting them with great attention and commitment, for the first time are forced to respond vaguely. We ask that the institutions help us: we need certainty about our work. It's not a good message that we're giving. It's also about the image of our city, which has become famous in the world thanks to the service we provide with la Sonrisa».
This morning the workers gathered in front of the municipality of Sant'Antonio Abate to express to the mayor Ilaria Abagnale the concerns they are experiencing. However, the mayor was not there and the workers updated for Thursday morning, for a march in the streets of Sant'Antonio Abate. They will start at 9 from the white gates of the castle. «We respectfully asked for authorizations from the police and the municipality - explains Emma - because we do not want to disturb or make noise. But we want to make it clear that we need to work. We will be received in delegation by the mayor, but there will be many of us, because in front of the town hall we will also bring our families».