Twin anti-EU protest marches have moved through a tense Rome, escorted by slowly-moving police vans and monitored by riot police, following a European Union summit to push for more vigor and unity.

Italian state TV RaiNew24 reported that police stopped dozens of protesters from reaching the marches Saturday. One protest leader, Tommaso Cacciari, complained that 150 protesters, arriving on buses from northeast Italy, were prevented from joining the marchers.

One anti-EU march moved past the iconic Mouth of Truth monument while another march route flanked the Tiber River. The protests grouped opponents to the EU, NATO and the high-speed rail project in northern Italy.

The Colosseum was closed and museums and many shops closed up, fearing clashes.

Earlier, pro-EU marches went off peacefully in Rome.