As stated on my General Information page, the Euro will become effective in Italy as of January 1, 2002.  There are eight coins and seven banknotes.  The symbol for the Euro is a capital C with an equal sign through the middle of the stem of the C.  While the Euro is at a fixed rate against a country's individual currency and does not fluctuate, the Euro fluctuates against the U.S. dollar (and other national currencies).  The official conversion rate between the Italian lire and the Euro is L1,936.27 = 1 Euro.  Please note that with the huge devaluation of the U.S. dollar and other currencies to the Euro, it is impossible to keep this up to date.  You need to get the current exchange rate through your local paper's financial pages.

COINS

The coins are in the following denominations and are pictured below on this webpage:  1 cent, 2 cents, 5 cents, 10 cents, 20 cents, 50 cents, 1 Euro, and 2 Euro.  The front side of the coins are all the same for all 12 member nations that ar moving from their country's traditional currency to the Euro.  Each member nation has been allowed to create their own image for the obverse side of each of the coins, depicting whatever scene or personage each country desires.  There are 100 cents to 1 Euro.

BANKNOTES

There are seven banknotes issued in the Euro system and are pictured below on this page for your reference.  They are:  5, 10, 20, 50, 100 , 200, and 500 Euros.  Banknotes are uniform on both sides and unlike the coins, they do not have individual images on the obverse side.

Now, to the pictures and descriptions.

Pictures of the New Euro Coins for Italy
 

  For size comparison, this is the size of the current 500-lire coin.
 

Front                        Back

one-cent coin = 20 lire
Obverse side depicts Castel del Monte.

two-cent coin = 40 lire
Obverse side depicts a tower called Mole Antonelliana, designed in
1863 by Alessandro Antonelli.

five-cent coin = 100 lire
Obverse side depicts the Coliseum in Rome, which was begun under
Emperor Vespasian around 75 AD and was inaugurated in 80 AD by
Emperor Titus.

10-cent coin = 190 lire
Obverse side shows the bust from Sandro Botticelli's famous "Birth of
Venus", which is at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.

20-cent coin = 390 lire
Obverse side is a sculpture by Umberto Boccioni, who was a leader of the
Italian futurist school.

50-cent coin = 970 lire
Obverse side depicts an equestrian statue of Emperor Marcus Aurelius which is
located in Piazza del Campidoglio in Rome.

1 euro coin = 1,940 lire
Obverse side of coin is a drawing by Leonardo da Vinci illustrating the proportions
of the human body, which is in the Gallery of the Academy in Venice.

2 euro coin = 3,870 lire
Obverse side of coin depicts a portrait of Dante Alighieri by Raphael, which is housed in
the Pope Julius II Wing of the Vatican Palace.

Banknotes
 

            Front                                                  Back

5 Euro banknote = 9,680 lire
Color:  Grey    Architectural period:  Classical

10 Euro banknote = 19,360 lire
Color:  Red    Architectural period:  Romanesque

20 Euro banknote = 38,730 lire
Color:  Blue    Architectural period:  Gothic

50 Euro banknote = 96,810 lire
Color:  Orange    Architectural period:  Rennaissance

100 Euro banknote = 193,627 lire
Color:  Green    Architectural period:  Baroque and rococo

200 Euro banknote = 387,250 lire
Color:  Yellow-Brown    Architectural period:  Iron and glass architecture

500 Euro banknote = 968,140 lire
Color:  Purple    Architectural period:  Modern 20th Century architecture