Italy has been for centuries divided into many city - states .
They all had different coinage systems , but when the country became unified in 1861 , the Italian lira came into place , and was used until 2002 .
Since Italy has been for centuries divided into many city - states , they all had different coinage systems , but when the country became unified in 1861 , the Italian lira came into place , and was used until 2002 .