The secret organization is illegally correcting Rome

It's 6:00 in the morning. Sunday. The streets of Ostiense neighbourhood south of Rome are empty. The subway is open, and nearby coffees await the first guests.

Seven men and women are working hard. Their faces do not appear covered as they extract bags of cement and sand from a car near St. Paul's Basilica outside the walls.

They are not criminals. They're members of the Gapp Secret Organization. They hide their identity because what they're doing is regulating sidewalks without official permission. It's technically illegal.

The city's maintenance or its absence has been a very hot issue in the Italian capital. There are 10,000 flus in the city somewhere... a source of frustration for many Romans traveling by scooter. The garbage collection has become a big problem. The cases of bus explosion and metro ladder collapse have been international news.

Seven illegal sidewalk regulators are part of a network of about 20 activists who are quietly doing the work that authorities have failed to do.

We have chosen the name GAP [Gruppi di Azione Patriotica], because many of our parents and grandparents were partisans and we want to honour their memory,” said one of the activists.

Gapi has been very busy in recent months.

They always leave the signature, logo and a hammer with screwdriver. They also leave behind a pamphlet that calls on the other Romans to follow their example.

Peppe [his release] is one of the founders. He's got the idea, he says, because his kid goes to primary school that has broken fountain. Months ago, he remembers, the city authorities came to fix it but they already fixed a tube, and left the entire structure useless.