Italy has proposed imposing a fine of up to €60,000 (£52,760) for people who damage monuments or other cultural sites.
Championed by culture minister Gennaro Sangiuliano, the new legislation would see fines collected used to pay for repairs and clean up.
Charges for vandalism would start at €10,000 (£8,793) and could go as high as €60,000.
The government approved the plans at a cabinet meeting on 11 April, and it’s expected the legislation will be approved and become law.
“The attacks on monuments and artistic sites produce economic damage to all,” Mr Sangiuliano said in a statement.
“To clean it up, the intervention of highly specialised personnel and the use of very costly machines are needed. Whoever carries out these acts must assume also the financial responsibility.”
He added that the government had been forced to pay out €40,000 (£38,690) to clean the façade of the 15th-century Palazzo Madama, an Unesco World Heritage Site in Turin, following recent vandalism.
It follows a spate of incidents in which tourists and protesters, among others, have damaged parts of Italy’s priceless heritage.
Earlier this week, activists put black dye in the waters of a fountain by Baroque sculptor Bernini in Rome, in order to demand action on climate change.
In June 2022, an American tourist was banned from Rome’s Spanish Steps for life after causing $26,000 in damages with an e-scooter.
The 28-year-old woman responsible reportedly hurled an electric scooter down the iconic landmark in the Italian capital. The incident was caught on camera by a passerby who was filming at the time.
Police eventually caught up with the woman and her unidentified male companion and were initially fined $400.
A week prior to the incident involving the scooter, a Saudi businessman drove his Maserati down the Spanish Steps after he reportedly took “a wrong turn”.
