In Italy, no dry numbers are needed to see what is glaringly not there. Just tour a town centre, where local businesses sell chocolates made on the premises, family-run bars have signature pastries to purvey and handmade shoes are sold by leathery old men. Mostly absent are chain stores, corporate uniforms and, in particular, global retail names above the door.

What happens if you want American-style fast food? There is not one KFC in Italy. There are only 37 Burger Kings compared with more than 400 in Spain and over 500 in the UK. Even McDonald’s at one point came close to bricking up its Golden Arches.