ROME—Several museums and monuments have temporarily shut down in Rome due to a one-day strike staged by ticket-booth workers and security guards in fear of losing their jobs, reports the Associated Press. According to Giusi Alessio, a spokesperson for Zetema — the city-owned company that manages museums in Rome — the walkout has closed some of the city’s greatest tourist attractions, such as the Capitoline Museums, home to an extensive collection of Roman antiquities, and the Ara Pacis Museum, which houses a 2,000-year old sacrificial altar near the Tiber River.

The workers' strike comes in response to the municipality's failure to renew contracts expiring in December.