Italians have begun voting in general elections seen as crucial for the country’s effort to tackle its economic problems, as well as for the eurozone.
Estimates published before a ban on polls two weeks ago gave a lead to Pier Luigi Bersani’s centre-left alliance.
It was thought to be a few points ahead of the centre-right bloc led by ex-Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
As he voted in Milan he was confronted by topless women with Basta Berlusconi (Enough Berlusconi) scrawled on them.
A centrist coalition led by outgoing Prime Minister Mario Monti is also running in the election, held on Sunday and Monday.
And opinion polls suggested there would be a strong turnout for popular comedian Beppe Grillo’s anti-establishment movement.
The election was called two months ahead of schedule, after Mr Berlusconi’s party withdrew its support for Mr Monti’s technocratic government.
‘Getting favours’
The voting is taking place amid a deep recession and austerity measures that have caused widespread public resentment.
It is also being closely watched in the eurozone, with the Italian government’s future commitment to austerity measures particularly under scrutiny.
Emerging from one polling station in Milan, voter Attilio Bianchetti told Reuters: “I’m not confident that the government that emerges from the election will be able to solve any of our problems.”
Luciana Li Mandri, a civil servant in Palermo, shared his pessimism: “We’re all about getting favours when we study, getting a protected job when we work. That’s the way we are and we can only be represented by people like that as well.”
In Milan, police had to drag away the topless protesters as Mr Berlusconi voted.
The three-time PM is embroiled in two trials, accused of tax fraud and sex with an underage prostitute.
He has also been under fire for giving a TV interview on Saturday, which opponents said was a breach of the campaigning ban.
Mr Berlusconi’s office said the interview had been granted only with the explicit agreement that it would be broadcast after polls close on Monday.
Voter Maria Teresa Gottardi told Agence France-Presse she was still voting for Mr Berlusconi: “I know he has his defects but he’s the best.”
On the first voting day on Sunday, polls across Italy opened at 08:00 (07:00 GMT) and will close at 22:00.
The interior ministry put voting for the lower house in the first four hours at 14.9% of eligible voters, down from 16.5% at the same point in the 2008 election.
Polling stations open again on Monday at 08:00 and close at 15:00. First results are expected in the early evening.
Some 47 million eligible voters are electing both chambers of parliament – the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate.
The electoral system is based on proportional representation and party lists, with a series of thresholds to encourage parties to form coalitions.
Mr Bersani’s centre-left Democratic Party (PD) has been a consistent frontrunner in the opinion polls at nearly 35%.
Mr Bersani, a former Communist, has pledged to continue with Mr Monti’s reforms, but suggests current European policy needs to do more to promote growth and jobs.
However, recent weeks have seen a narrowing of his lead over Mr Berlusconi’s People of Freedom (PdL) alliance, which is critical of austerity measures.
Mr Grillo’s Five Star Movement (M5S) was running third in the polls.
The BBC’s Alan Johnston, in Rome, says its activists have utter contempt for the political establishment and have been making a connection with many Italians who have lost faith in the traditional parties.