The Italian government says two separate incidents at cultural landmarks last week show the necessity of its proposed "eco-vandalism" law.

The law would issue fines of up to €60,000 ($65,000) to those found guilty of defacing, damaging or destroying anything the government deems as a "cultural asset." 

There have been a string of incidents that have enraged and embarrassed both lawmakers and law-enforcers. 

Last week, graffiti artists scaled and tagged the soaring stone entrance to Milan's Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, the prestigious shopping arcade in the heart of the city.

A video posted online showed three figures in black spraying a green inscription as they edged around an upper ledge of the four-storey edifice, watched by tourists below in the square that faces Milan's cathedral. 

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Local police said the group were spotted but disappeared before officers could catch them.

An investigation is underway to try to identify the group and assess how they could have accessed the top of the facade, which is meant to be out of bounds, police added.

The 19th century Galleria is home to shops, restaurants and hotels that could have been used to gain access to the site.

The tagging appeared to be the work of graffiti artists rather than politically-motivated groups or the environmental protesters who have targeted Italian museums and architectural treasures in recent months.

The stunt angered Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, who said the perpetrators should be "taught a lesson they will never forget," with prison sentences, fines or community service.

In an unrelated incident, two young French nationals were caught scaling the Madonnina spire of Milan Cathedral early on Friday, Azernews reported.

The pair, aged 18 and 20, climbed back down when they were spotted and handed themselves over to police.

This summer the Colosseum has been damaged three times by tourists etching their names or initials into its 2,000-year-old stone.

German tourists were also accused of toppling a 150-year old statue in the northern Italian region of Lombardy.

In a press release Italian Minister of Culture Gennaro Sangiuliano said: "The eco-vandalism bill will be voted on by the Chamber and will finally become law so as to have a stricter and more effective regulatory framework to counteract the disfigurement of our cultural and landscape assets."

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