ROME State archaeologists are up in arms over a proposal to shift control of fragile ancient monuments here to a government committee with special powers, saying it will undermine their authority. Nearly 4,700 people have signed an online petition arguing that the proposal "mortifies the professionalism" of the archaeological staff. On Thursday morning archaeologists and employees at the ancient sites plan to stage a three-hour protest at the Culture Ministry; during that time the principal sites here and in Ostia will remain closed. A similar protest on Friday left thousands of tourists standing outside locked gates. The director of Italy's civil protection agency was designated on Jan. 30 to lead the new committee that is to oversee repairs and restorations at the Colosseum, the Palatine Hill, the Ostia Antica ruins and other sites. The panel would have the equivalent of emergency powers, letting it circumvent legislative restrictions and bureaucratic obstacles. Many archaeologists and arts administrators see more ominous designs behind the provision, which the Italian cabinet is expected to ratify on Friday. They fear it will lead to the gradual dismantling of a century-old system of state-run conservation, allowing private investors to gain a stake in some the most lucrative tourist sites in Italy. With some 4.5 million visitors in 2007, Rome's downtown archeological complex is the most traipsed spot in Italy, with nearly 38 million a year in ticket sales. The divide reflects opposed visions of who should maintain the country's cultural patrimony, with one side pushing for conservation as the top priority and the other for a more commercial strategy that includes private investment. A decision last year to appoint Mario Resca, the former chairman of McDonald's Italy, to a post in which he would enhance the money-making potential of Italy's monuments drew ridicule and broad protests. His appointment has not yet been ratified. Archaeologists concede that some ancient monuments seriously need repairs, especially after heavy rains this winter, but question whether emergency powers are needed for that. Vittorio Emiliani of the Comitato per la Bellezza (Beauty Committee), an arts-protection group, opposes the notion to bring in Guido Bertolaso, the civil protection chief of Italy. "Civil protection means erupting volcanoes or tsunamis," Mr. Emiliani said. "I don't understand the emergency here." Italy's undersecretary for culture, Francesco Maria Giro, countered that the monuments suffer from "total and unacceptable degradation." "Important decisions had to be made," he said in a telephone interview. He described abandoned archaeological excavations, half-complete repairs, flooded sewers and worn scaffolding abutting buildings, such that "you can't tell whether they support the monuments or vice versa." There are other concerns for archaeologists and arts groups. In its Jan. 30 news release on the proposal the Culture Ministry said that Mario Corsini, the Rome city councilman in charge of urban development, would work alongside Mr. Bertolaso. That caused speculation that the government, which set aside 23 billion last week for a building program that includes a bridge over the Strait of Messina, could subjugate the protection of ruins to construction projects that would generate jobs and revenue. Under the current system Culture Ministry officials must sign off on building projects in areas where archaeological remains may exist, including the outskirts of the capital. "In moments of economic crisis perhaps one wants to have a free hand in the Roman countryside," Adriano La Regina, the former chief of Rome's archaeological heritage, said dryly in an interview last month in the newspaper La Repubblica. Rome's downtown archaeological area is unusual in that it is managed partly by the state and partly by the city. A spokesman for Mr. Corsini said on Wednesday that the makeup of the new committee and its mandate would not be known until Friday at the earliest. Mr. Giro said that the committee's special powers, granted for a year initially, will let it cut the red tape that often keeps things from getting done in Italy. Even after the committee is running, he added, the state archaeological authorities will still have a say in conservation matters. Angelo Bottini, the current state-appointed chief of Rome's archaeological areas, said he saw nothing wrong in allowing Mr. Bertolaso to deal with genuine emergencies at the sites. But he cautioned that there was no substitute for his own staff's conservation work. "It would be serious to intervene in questions of our competence," he said. Tourists strolling through the Roman Forum on Wednesday seemed unaware of any crisis regarding the site's condition. "Isn't this what ruins are supposed to look like?" said Peggy Schelgel, an instructor of biochemistry at Penn State University. "It's kind of hard to tell."