ROME, August 8, 2008 (AFP) - New measures to crack down on begging in major Italian cities are 'unacceptable,' the Vatican's top official concerned with migrants said Friday.

'Begging is a basic human right for those who are hungry and cold,' Cardinal Renato Martino told the leading Italian daily Corriere della Sera in an interview published Friday.

'The prohibition of begging in general is unacceptable. So far no other means to respond to cases of extreme need have been found, and I think none will be found anytime soon,' he said.

Two of Italy's favourite tourist destinations, Venice and Florence, recently adopted anti-begging legislation, arguing that it helped to prevent exploitation, notably of children.

Northeastern Verona and Ravenna have also banned begging, while Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno has said he would introduce a similar measure.

Assisi, the central Italian birthplace of St Francis, has banned beggars from within 500 metres (yards) of churches, squares and public buildings.

The 13th-century founder of the Franciscan religious order devoted his life to the poor.

'Profiteers should be brought to justice and racketeering should be fought, but if asking for alms is forbidden, people cannot help their fellow human beings and the problem (of hunger and poverty) persists,' Martino said.

The cardinal, who heads the Pontifical Council for Peace and Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, also criticised a move by Alemanno to ban foraging in rubbish bins.

The right-wing Rome mayor has temporarily suspended the ban aimed at vagrants and the homeless, noting criticism from the Catholic charity Sant'Egidio.