As many as a million Italians protested against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi Sunday in what the Italian media hailed as the largest anti-government demonstration in years.

Calling their movement "If not now, when?" the mostly female protesters gathered on the streets of more than 200 Italian cities and towns to protest against what they said was a kind of ingrained sexism that has come to be symbolized by Berlusconi's alleged sex parties and his headline grabbing relationship with a Moroccan-born cabaret dancer named Karima el Mahrough but best known by her stage name "Ruby."

The women carried signs and banged pots and pans to protest against the prime minister's habits they say distract him from the affairs of state, and many called for him to resign from office.

Berlusconi's allies held their own counter-protests in a few large cities earlier in the weekend, but they were dwarfed in size compared to the anti-Berlusconi protests, where estimates ranged from a minimum of half a million to over a million.

The protests were sparked by Berlusconi's relationship with el Mahrough. Last Wednesday, prosecutors filed the paperwork to have Berlusconi tried for abuse of power and for paying for sex with a minor. El Mahrough was 17 when she met Berlusconi.

Berlusconi, a billionaire media tycoon who has been prime minister for times, has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and both he and el Mahrough say they never had sex.

Berlusconi has been prime minister four times since heading a seven-month government in 1994-95 and has faced multiple protests since then, but Sunday's manifestations are the largest he has ever faced.

Berlusconi's government has been hurt by a long series of embarrassing revelations about the prime minister as well as slipping approval levels, slow economic growth, and the departure of several key allies. But so far he has managed to hold on to power despite all the problems.