What was the name of the currency used in Italy before adopting the euro?

What was the name of the currency used in Italy before adopting the euro? The Italian lira.

The lira was Italy’s currency from national unification in 1861 until the euro replaced it. Its name comes from libra, the Latin word for a pound of weight, linking it to a wider European monetary tradition that also influenced the French livre and British pound.

Italy began using the euro as its official unit of account on January 1, 1999, but euro banknotes and coins did not enter circulation until 2002. The fixed conversion rate was €1 = 1,936.27 lire. The lira ceased to be legal tender on February 28, 2002.

A common mix-up is confusing the Italian lira with the French franc or other currencies used by neighboring countries. The lira also had related versions in San Marino and Vatican City, where local currencies circulated at parity with Italy’s. Its ISO 4217 code was ITL.