Rome among cities hit as an email threatens attacks on pupils and the prime minister. Meloni convenes summit.Hundreds of schools across Italy were evacuated on Wednesday morning after receiving an emailed bomb threat, with some reports putting the total at more than 300.  Police and carabinieri bomb disposal teams carried out checks at the affected buildings, and pupils and staff were moved to safety.   The schools affected were in Rome, Milan, Turin, Naples, Bologna and Venice, as well as elsewhere around Italy, according to media reports.   Government response Prime minister Giorgia Meloni has convened a meeting at Palazzo Chigi for 16.00 this afternoon to assess the situation and coordinate the necessary response, state broadcaster RAI News reports.   According to sources at Palazzo Chigi, the meeting will be attended by deputy premiers Matteo Salvini and Antonio Tajani, ministers Matteo Piantedosi (interior) and Guido Crosetto (defence), along with heads of the intelligence services and the National Cybersecurity Agency.   "We must avoid alarmism, as it is clear from the content of the email that there is virtually no concrete risk" - education minister Giuseppe Valditara said - "In all likelihood, this is a cyber-attack rather than a genuine physical threat; however, we need to devise a strategy in consultation with the intelligence services". The email The message, in Italian, was signed “Mikhail Andropov”, who described himself as leader of the “Vilayat of Misoginistan”.   It claimed that an explosive device had been left in each building and that a bomb had been placed in the engine of the prime minister’s car. It also contained graphic threats of mass violence. Media reports described the alerts as false alarms, though investigators were still carrying out checks to rule out any danger. Investigators believe more schools than those reported may have been targeted.Defence minister Guido Crosetto said the alerts were part of a strategy of “sowing worry”. Police, he said, work to distinguish serious threats from those made by hoaxers, who he predicted would become more numerous.   This is a developing story...   Photo credit: Yuri Turkov / Shutterstock.com