Small and mid-sized companies form the backbone of the Italian economy, but thousands of them are on the brink of bankruptcy. Tens of thousands of jobs are at risk, even in the usually robust north of the country. In the small town of Legnano, the mood is increasingly desperate.

Report by Katharina Bahn

More from this edition of Made in Germany: http://www.dw.de/made-in-germany-the-business-magazine-2014-10-21/e-17951209-9798