Protests against war and rising living costs took place in major Italian cities on Saturday, with some incidents of violence and clashes, a week after unrest erupted across the country.
Authorities deployed a heavy police presence, and many shops closed as a precaution against possible damage.
The demonstrations, which followed clashes last weekend in which protesters fought with police, looted shops and vandalised property, were violent in Turin, Rome and Bologna, with clashes between officers and demonstrators. Water cannons were used to disperse the crowd. They were largely peaceful in Milan.
Reuters witnesses did not observe any shops being looted or property vandalised.
Protesters forced their way through the gates of Rome's Colosseum on Saturday (October 24), confronting security staff at the ancient landmark.
The demonstrators had deviated from the planned route and headed towards the Colosseum, where tourists were still inside. Riot police moved into the area, but the tense standoff did not escalate into clashes with police.
Italy's Culture Ministry said no damage to the Colosseum site or injuries had been reported following the protesters' entry.
One demonstrator at the Colosseum said, "I'll never see a pension myself, but if only that were the problem. The problem is that we are protesting for our parents, for our grandparents, because my grandmother - who, like so many other grandmothers, lived through the war - told me two days ago that she can’t find any food, that she has no food.”
After calls for further demonstrations circulated on social media this week, authorities made extensive security arrangements and deployed large numbers of police officers to prevent a repeat of last weekend's violence.
Earlier on Saturday, Italian police said they had detained a person allegedly linked to organising the “17 October Movement” - last weekend's protests - and had taken them to police headquarters in Milan for questioning.
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