Italy hopes to build on the successful restoration with private money of landmarks like the Colosseum and the Trevi Fountain by appealing to China to stump up cash for new projects to preserve the country’s unparalleled cultural heritage.

Dario Franceschini, the Italian culture minister, flew to Beijing this week to persuade Chinese corporations to contribute to the restoration of sites such as the Domus Aurea, built as the Emperor Nero’s palatial residence in Rome, and a sprawling 18th century palace near Naples which was built as a rival to Versailles.

With more Unesco World Heritage sites than any other country, recession-hit Italy is struggling to finance their daily upkeep, let alone full-blown restoration.

Other sites on the wish-list for private sponsorship include temples built by the ancient Greeks in Sicily, a network of thousands of Etruscan catacombs, and a huge villa built in the hills outside Rome by the Emperor Hadrian.

"The involvement of international investors is and will be one of the driving forces for this ministry," Mr Franceschini said.

The Italian government has introduced generous tax breaks for companies willing to invest in the cultural heritage sector, and the policy has already reaped rewards.

Tod’s, an Italian shoe manufacturer, donated £22 million to the cleaning of the Colosseum, a painstaking project which has just been completed, while Fendi, the fashion house, paid for the Trevi Fountain to undergo a similar sprucing up.