Hundreds of Sicilians protested on Friday against water shortages and poor water management on the Italian island, hit by a severe drought this year.

People in the city of Agrigento in Sicily demonstrated to draw the attention of local authorities, holding a banner reading "we want water", and shouting "shame, shame" and "water is a right for all, water is a fundamental right".

The march's organisers stressed that "the population is exhausted by constant water shortages and the ineffective management of water resources" on the drought-affected island. 

"The water situation in the city and in the province has become unbearable, with frequent cuts and unsustainable rationing," the group said in a statement. 

Agrigento, a city of 55,000 on the southern coast of Sicily, is best-known for its "valley of the temples", an important archeological site housing well-preserved Greek temples on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

Sicilian officials at an emergency meeting on Friday adopted measures that should increase the amount of water available in Agrigento by 20 percent in the next 10 days, according to news agency Ansa.

Agrigento's archdiocese on Friday denounced the "inadequate water supply" and asked for "urgent and effective emergency solutions".

The Italian government in early May declared a state of emergency for the southern island, unblocking funds to purchase water tanker trucks, drill wells and renovate pumping and desalination stations. 

Once the breadbasket of ancient Rome, Sicily is expected this year to see its wheat harvest collapse by more than 50 per cent, according to agricultural lobby Coldiretti.

Meanwhile, 5,800 hectares of agricultural land have gone up in flames since the beginning of July due to wildfires that erupt in the dry conditions, said the group, on an island heavily affected by human-induced climate change.

The effects of the drought are exacerbated by a lack of investment in infrastructure to prevent water from being wasted, Coldiretti said. 

According to Italy's National Institute of Statistics (Istat), Sicily has one of the country's highest rates of wasted drinking water, with 51.6 per cent of water lost from distribution circuits in 2022.