The provinces where shopkeepers and artisans are under the highest threat from stick-ups are all in the north, CGIA said: Milan, Parma, Bologna, Rimini, Imperia, Florence and Turin, in that order of danger.

At a national level, three out of four perps are never caught, said the thinktank.

The highest robbery rate of all was in Milan, the business capital of the north.

ANSA