Thousands of students are demonstrating in Italy ahead of a Senate vote on controversial education reforms.
Rome police have sealed off the area around parliament after last week's violent protests when Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi survived a no-confidence motion.
Education Minister Mariastella Gelmini says reforms will save billions and create a more merit-based system.
Critics say universities are already severely under-funded.
On the march
In Rome, students in their thousands have been marching peacefully through the streets.
"We are in the square to protest against minister Gelmini and to show that after the 14th of December we are not divided, we are not violent, we are simply here to demonstrate and to validate our ideas," a student called Franco told Reuters TV.
But clashes have been reported in Palermo, Sicily, where some students were reported to be throwing stones at police and trying to enter a local government building.
In the northern city of Turin, protesters attacked a publishing house owned by the prime minister, while in Naples students reportedly brought traffic to a standstill.
Demonstrations are taking place in other cities across Italy, including Milan, Venice, and Perugia.
Reforming the system
The reforms will cut the number of university courses, merge some smaller universities, reduce funding for grants, increase the role of the private sector and limit the duration of rectorships.
The BBC's David Willey in Rome says there is excessive power in the hands of ageing professors and teachers.
But while many agree that reforms of the education sector might be needed, there has been criticism of the swingeing cuts, thought to total around 9bn euros (£8bn, $12bn).
Italy spends less than 5% of its Gross Domestic Product on education - lower than many developed countries.
But the cuts are part of wider austerity measures that the government is introducing in order to reduce its public debt.
Job losses
Students have held a number of demonstrations in recent months over the cuts, which some estimate will lead to the loss of about 130,000 jobs in the education sector.
"We are asking for this bill to be blocked and for the whole public education system to be refinanced," the Student Network said in a statement.
On Tuesday, Education Minister Ms Gelmini said she was open to talks on the reforms.
But she has insisted the measures were urgently needed to equip Italian students for employment.
"It is essential to restore dignity and usability to Italian university degrees," she said in an open letter to the Corriere della Sera newspaper.
Our correspondent says there is heavy youth unemployment in Italy and many university graduates take years to find jobs.
The education bill proposed by Ms Gelmini is being discussed in the Senate on Wednesday, although the vote may be delayed until Thursday.
If it is passed, Italy's President Giorgio Napolitano would then have to sign the bill into law.
A student delegation is expected to meet the president later to present a list of complaints.
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