The second day of closure of Pompeii due to union meetings is wreaking "incalculable damage to the image of the whole country", Culture Minister Dario Franceschini said after tourists turned up in droves because of a lack of information and were shut out of the ancient Roman city again.
An estimated 1,100 visitors were kept out from 08:00 until the union meeting ended at 11:00.
On Monday the number of visitors was 2,000.
Union action is one of the main recurring problems at the site buried by Vesuvius in 79 AD as well as structural collapses, stray dogs and feared infiltration by the local Camorra mafia.
Archaeologists continue to uncover significant finds at Pompeii, a UNESCO World Heritage Site where the European Union has devoted 105 million euros for a major restoration program called the Great Pompeii Project.
The Italian government has said it faces "a national challenge" to make the most of that money to safeguard the unique site that has faced numerous environmental and political threats over the years.
In April, for example, heavy rains led to several reports of collapsed walls, soon after UNESCO warned that the miraculously preserved ancient city could "completely fall apart" and lose its world heritage status unless urgent action was taken.
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