The official site of Italy's central bank

The legislative framework

Here we find the historical series of laws and regulations that have governed the circulation of money in Italy and the characteristics of lira banknotes and that are cited in the various sections given over the banknote issues.

There are more than 160 legal texts in all, from Ministerial Decree 366 of 26 December 1854 - which specified the distinctive features and characteristics of the 1,000-lira, 500-lira, 250-lira and 100-lira notes of Banca Nazionale nel Regno - to the Ministerial Decree of 6 May 1997 specifying the distinctive features and characteristics of the Bank of Italy's 500,000-lira note, the last lira-denominated banknote issued.

On 1 July 1926 the Bank of Italy became the only institution in Italy authorized to issue banknotes.

Until 1936 issuance was in the traditional manner, i.e. under state concession for a predetermined period of time. In return for the concession, the Bank of Italy was subject to certain financial obligations and administrative and technical controls exercised by the Treasury minister, who relied on a general inspectorate for the actual oversight of the institution of issue. The minister also had regulatory powers over all aspects of the production and use of new banknotes and the replacement and cancellation of worn and damaged notes and the power of approval, by decree, of the format, features and quantity of the banknotes that the Bank intended to produce. The denominations were determined by law.

The Banking Law of 1936 confirmed the Bank's role as "issue institution", and note issue became an institutional function.

With the introduction of the euro, this regulatory framework was radically altered. In large part the Treasury's involvement in banknote production and issuance was abrogated and the European Central Bank, under Article 106 of the EU Treaty, has the "exclusive right to authorise the issue of banknotes" in Eurosystem countries.