I would like to point out that the stories above refer to the taxi strike as the "Uber Strike." Roman law requires taxis to charge 48 euros to the city center. They cannot charge a higher or lower amount.
Uber and private car services do not operate under any law. They can always undercut the taxi drivers by a few dollars, effectively putting them out of work. Rome twice passed laws to level the playing field but Uber, a giant multinational, has blocked their implementation.
A little over two weeks ago I needed to get from Rome to FCO. I asked the hotel desk clerk to reserve a cab for me the next morning. The clerk said, "A cab costs 48. I can call a private car for 45." That's the dilemma for the taxi drivers. Uber and private cars are price fixing to put them out of business because taxis are forbidden by law to compete on price.
I mention this not to take sides, but so that people don't think that Italy is a madhouse with people going on strike all the time for no reason. There is another side to the story other than, "the taxis are on strike."