Scuffles have erupted outside Italy's famous La Scala opera house in Milan during a protest against proposed funding cuts to the arts and education.
Opera house workers from across Italy were rallying peacefully ahead of a protest speech by conductor Daniel Barenboim when trouble broke out.
Students clashed with police wielding truncheons and using teargas, and 14 officers suffered minor injuries.
The audience inside applauded Barenboim for his impassioned defence of culture.
Speaking before he raised the baton on a performance of Richard Wagner's The Walkyrie, the Israeli guest conductor appealed directly to President Giorgio Napolitano, sitting in the royal box, to use his constitutional powers to invoke protection of Italy's cultural assets.
"In the names of the colleagues who play, sing, dance and work, not only here but in all of the theatres, I am here to tell you at what point we are deeply worried for the future of culture in the country and in Europe," he said.
The theatre erupted in applause, with Mr Napolitano reportedly joining in. BBC News
