Out-of-work tourist guides protest outside the Pantheon in Rome.

"Without tourism Italy dies, tourism is not here but tour guides are."

With this slogan, Rome tour guides staged a flash mob protest in front of the Pantheon - which reopened today after three months - to call on the government to help the industry which has been devastated by the covid-19 pandemic.

• What does the future look like for Italian tourism

The demonstration - whose participants were masked and maintained social distancing - was organised by AGTA, the Association of Licensed Tourist Guides.

Their specific measures for those employed in the tour guide sector included economic support until the resumption of work and the possibility of suspending payments of taxes in 2020 and of paying them in installments.

• Rome's tourism sector on its knees

"We are all registered for IVA" - a guide present told Italian state broadcaster RAI - "and in addition to the €600 in March and April we have no support. We will not work until March 2021 if tourism does not recover. But we still have to pay taxes. We are asking for support from the government, because we never hear the tour guide sector being spoken about."