Italian President Giorgio Napolitano said today that refusing Italian citizenship to children born to immigrants in Italy was "crazy" and urged parliament to change the law to revitalise an ageing country.

"I hope that parliament will address the question of nationality for children born in Italy to immigrant parents. To refuse it is crazy, absurd. All the more so because the children want it," Napolitano said.

"Societies need new energy, especially ours, which is ageing and fossilised," he added in a speech at his residence in Rome.

The 86-year-old head of state, who played a key role in Italy's recent change of prime minister and new cabinet, called on members of parliament to alter the law on rights to citizenship, currently based on blood ties.

"The conditions for dialogue are better," he said, following the replacement of billionaire prime minister Silvio Berlusconi with technocratic Mario Monti.

His appeal was welcomed by several political parties as well as the Save The Children charity, but was rejected by the anti-immigration Northern League party, Berlusconi's ex-coalition partner.

"President Napolitano should not impose laws which go against our age-old culture, revolutionising our laws," said Mario Borghezio, a Member of the European Parliament from the Northern League.

Over 700,000 children of immigrants are schooled in Italy, of which 500,000 were born in the country, according to press reports.

"Children of immigrants pay their taxes, go to school, speak Italian" but "are neither Italian nor immigrants. It's an embarrassment," said the head of the left-wing Democratic Party, Luigi Bersani.