In Italy University system, u pay on the grounds of your family making money. I'm going to explain better.
There are almost 10/12 different bands. The more your family earns the more u'll pay for university. When I was at University, I used to pay almost 800 euros (more than 800 dollars) per year and my band was about 3 or 4. So, u gotta think about those who pay more, and more.
If u have other brothers or sisters at Universisty, u pay a little bit less. But I must admit that Italian Universities are very expensive also if they're some of the most ancient in Europe as the one I attended to, that's to say "Friederick II of Sweden".
It would be great to have it for free as in other countries of Europe.
Regards