Editing Bank of Italy (section)

==Currency and coinage==
{{main|History of coins in Italy}}
[[File:5 lire 1914.jpg|thumb|Silver 5&nbsp;[[Italian lira|lire]] coin, 1914, with the [[Italia Turrita|personification of Italy]] standing on a [[quadriga]] depicted on the reverse]]
[[File:100 lire Repubblica Italiana 1956.jpg|thumb|right|100&nbsp;lire coin, 1956, with goddess [[Minerva]] holding an olive tree and a long spear depicted on the reverse]]

[[History of coins in Italy|Italy has a long history of different coinage types]], which spans thousands of years. Since Italy has been for centuries divided into many [[List of historic states of Italy|historic states]], they all had different coinage systems, but when the country became [[Italian unification|unified]] in 1861, the [[Italian lira]] came into place, and was used until 2002. The term originates from ''libra'', the largest unit of the [[Carolingian monetary system]] used in Western Europe and elsewhere from the 8th to the 20th century.<ref>The last country to abandon the Carolingian system was [[Nigeria]] in 1973, when the [[Nigerian pound|pound]] was replaced by the [[Nigerian naira|naira]].</ref> 

Italian lira was introduced by the [[Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic)|Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy]] in 1807 at par with the [[French franc]], and was subsequently adopted by the different states that would eventually form the [[Kingdom of Italy]] in 1861. It was subdivided into 100 ''centesimi'' (singular: ''centesimo''), which means "hundredths" or "cents". The lira was also the currency of the [[Albanian Kingdom (1939-1943)|Albanian Kingdom]] from 1941 to 1943.

There was no standard [[currency symbol|sign]] or abbreviation for the Italian lira. The abbreviations ''Lit.'' (standing for ''Lira italiana'') and L. (standing for ''Lira'') and the signs [[Lira#Lira sign|₤]] or [[Pound sign|£]] were all accepted representations of the currency. Banks and financial institutions, including the Bank of Italy,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bancaditalia.it/pubblicazioni/relazione-annuale/1982/en_rel82_abridged_annualreport.pdf?language_id=1|title=Banca d'Italia Annual Report for 1982 - page 187 |publisher=bancaditalia.it |date=31 May 1983 |access-date=2022-06-20}}</ref> often used ''Lit.''<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Banca_Popolare_di_Milano_50_lire.jpg |title=A ''miniassegni'' issued by the Banca Popolare di Milano using "LIT." as the currency sign |date=20 June 2019 |access-date=2022-06-20 |archive-date=2022-12-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221206115146/https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Banca_Popolare_di_Milano_50_lire.jpg |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AssegnoN1BCCGaudianoDiLavello.jpg |title=A cheque issued by the Cassa Rurale ed Artigiana di Gaudiano di Lavello using a script version of "Lit." |date=30 August 2015 |access-date=2022-06-20 |archive-date=2022-12-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221206115149/https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AssegnoN1BCCGaudianoDiLavello.jpg |url-status=live }}</ref> and this was regarded internationally as the abbreviation for the Italian lira.<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_World_Factbook_(1990)/Italy|title=CIA World Factbook 1990 - page 178 |chapter=Italy |date=1 April 1990 |access-date=2022-06-21}}</ref> Handwritten documents and signs at market stalls would often use "£" or "₤",<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1933-06-28%20Alfa%206C%201500%2010811406%20ACI%20registration.jpg |title=1933 Registration Form of the Reale Automobile Club d'Italia prominently displaying "£50'000" in handwriting. |access-date=2022-06-20 |archive-date=2022-12-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221206115150/https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1933-06-28_Alfa_6C_1500_10811406_ACI_registration.jpg |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:451_-_Siracusa_-_Cotognata_-_Foto_Giovanni_Dall%27Orto_-_15-Oct-2008.jpg |title=An old price display sign in use in Sicily marked with both the lira and euro signs |access-date=2022-06-20 |archive-date=2022-12-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221206115151/https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:451_-_Siracusa_-_Cotognata_-_Foto_Giovanni_Dall%27Orto_-_15-Oct-2008.jpg |url-status=live }}</ref> while coins used "L."<ref>{{cite web |title=Category:Coins of the Kingdom of Italy by year |url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Coins_of_the_Kingdom_of_Italy_by_year}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Category:Coins of the Italian Republic by year |url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Coins_of_the_Italian_Republic_by_year }}</ref> [[Postage stamps and postal history of Italy|Italian postage stamps]] mostly used the word {{lang|it|lire}} in full but some (such as the 1975 monuments series) used "L." The name of the currency could also be written in full as a prefix or a suffix (e.g. Lire&nbsp;100,000 or 100,000&nbsp;lire). The [[ISO 4217]] [[currency code]] for the lira was ''ITL''.

The Italian lira was the official unit of currency in [[Italy]] until 1 January 1999, when it was replaced by the [[euro]] (euro coins and notes were not introduced until 2002). Old lira denominated currency ceased to be legal tender on 28 February 2002. The conversion rate is 1,936.27 lire to the euro.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ultimalira.it/inglese/storia_lira_compl.html |title=Ultimalira: Storia della Lira |access-date=4 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070515000441/http://www.ultimalira.it/inglese/storia_lira_compl.html |archive-date=15 May 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
All lira banknotes in use immediately before the introduction of the euro, as all post WW2 coins, were still exchangeable for euros in all branches of the Bank of Italy until 29 February 2012.{{fact|date=March 2025}}