"If we go ahead with a configuration which is also taking into account the manned version, this will allow us to reduce drastically the overall cost of the capsules, " Mrs Di Pippo told BBC News.

BBC: Europe targets manned spaceship

Often businessmen are the recipients and targets of the action that follows, creating a state of fear that led Pippo Callipo, president of Confindustria Calabria, the regional employers' association, to write to Italy's president a year ago to ask for the army to be sent in.

ECONOMIST: Doing business in a lawless part of Italy