Italy's antitrust body said Tuesday it had opened an investigation against the deputy culture minister in Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government over his alleged acceptance of lucrative fees for appearing at events.

The Italian Competition Authority said in a statement that the probe would focus on "activities incompatible with a government office" of which Deputy Culture Minister Vittorio Sgarbi is suspected.

Sgarbi, an art historian and critic, has pocketed about €300,000 since February for appearances at various cultural events, the newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano reported last week.

Sgarbi has defended himself, denying any conflict of interest and saying the monies received reflected "a fee for what I've done all my life, what any writer or lecturer does: I talk about art".

Among planned appearances for the undersecretary was the November 11 Miss Italy contest, in which Sgarbi was to be paid €10,000 for three hours of his time, according to the newspaper. 

Organisers of the contest later said Sgarbi would not be involved. 

Italian law prohibits government officials from engaging in "professional or self-employment activities" related to the office of government for the benefit of public or private entities.

Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano has not come to the defence of his undersecretary, instead telling Il Fatto Quotidiano: "I didn't want him and in fact I try to keep him at arm's length and make up for the trouble he gets into."

In June, Sgarbi spoke during a museum event during which he used profanity and made sexist comments about bedding women, provoking complaints by museum staff. 

In Brussels on Friday, Meloni told reporters she would evaluate the situation after the antitrust body had completed its investigation.