An Italian man protesting against Prime Minister Mario Monti is refusing to come down from a ledge on the dome of St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican.

The man, identified as Marcello Di Finizio, jumped over railings near the top of the 137 metre-high dome on Tuesday afternoon, before abseiling to a ledge over a window in the cupola.

Di Finizio says he is protesting against the PM and the European Union, with a banner reading: "Help! Enough Monti, Enough Europe! Enough Multinationals!".

He reportedly owns a beach bar that rents out parasols and lounge chairs to sunbathers, and is angry about an EU directive and Italian government plan that will see licences to operate patches of seafront auctioned off transparently from 2016.

Vatican police and firefighters have so far failed to find a way to bring him down safely.