Currency of Italy

The official currency in Italy is the euro. One euro is subdivided into 100 cents. When conducting currency exchanges for Italy, be sure to look for the currency code EUR.

Euro banknotes are available in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, and 500 euros; however, the 200 and 500 EUR notes are rarely used. Additionally, there are 1 and 2 euro coins in circulation. Cents are represented in coins with values of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, and 50.

The lira served as the official currency of Italy from 1861 until 2002. Initially introduced by the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy in 1807, it was set at par with the French franc and later adopted by the various states that eventually united to form the Kingdom of Italy in 1861. The lira was divided into 100 centesimi, meaning "hundredths" or "cents." Additionally, during the years 1941 to 1943, the lira also functioned as the currency of the Albanian Kingdom.

The term "lira" originates from "libra," which was the largest unit in the Carolingian monetary system utilized in Western Europe and other regions from the 8th to the 20th century. This Carolingian system laid the foundation for various currencies, including the French livre tournois (ancestor of the franc), the Italian lira, and the pound unit of sterling and related currencies.

In 1999, with the advent of the euro as Italy's unit of account, the lira transitioned into a national subunit of the euro at a fixed exchange rate of €1 = Lit 1,936.27. Subsequently, the lira was phased out as physical currency in 2002.

The Carolingian monetary system intricately divided the libra into 20 solidi (singular: solidus) or 240 denarii. In Italian, these units are translated to lira, soldo, and denaro; in French, to livre, sou, and denier; and in English, to pound, shilling, and penny.

In France, the term "franc" denoted a coin worth one livre tournois, and this term found adoption in various Gallo-Italic languages in north-western Italy to signify the Italian lira.

Regarding notation and symbols, there was no standardized sign or abbreviation for the Italian lira. Acceptable representations included Lit. (Lira italiana), L. (Lira), and symbols like ₤ or £. The abbreviation Lit. was widely recognized internationally. Handwritten documents and market stall signs often used "£" or "₤," while coins featured "L." Italian postage stamps primarily used the word "lire" but occasionally employed "L."

The ISO 4217 currency code for the lira was ITL.

The Italian lira was introduced in 1807 by the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy, initially at par with the French franc. It replaced various currencies across Italian states, such as the Piedmontese scudo, Sardinian scudo, Genoese lira, Milanese lira, Venetian lira, Lombardo-Venetian lira, Parman lira, Tuscan fiorino, Tuscan lira, Neapolitan piastra, Sicilian piastra, Roman scudo, and Papal lira.

In 1865, Italy joined the Latin Monetary Union, where the lira was equated with the French, Belgian, and Swiss francs. The U.S. dollar was valued at approximately 5.18 Italian lire until 1914.

World War I disrupted the Latin Monetary Union, causing inflation in Italy. Mussolini implemented an exchange rate in 1926, and in 1927, the lira was pegged to the U.S. dollar. Post-World War II, exchange rates varied, and Italy pegged the lira to the U.S. dollar until the early 1970s. Inflation episodes ensued until the introduction of the euro.

Due to post-war inflation, the lira's low value prompted suggestions of redenomination, leading to the proposal of lira pesante in the 1970s, although it was eventually abandoned in 1991. The lira remained in circulation until January 1, 1999, when it was replaced by the euro. Old lira currency ceased to be legal tender on February 28, 2002. The Bank of Italy exchanged lira banknotes and coins until December 6, 2011.

Yes, both France and Italy use the same currency, which is the euro (EUR). The euro is the official currency of the Eurozone, a group of European Union (EU) member countries that have adopted the euro as their common currency for monetary transactions.