Italian euro coins have a design unique to each denomination, though there is a common theme of famous Italian works of art from one of Italy's renowned artists. Each coin is designed by a different designer, from the 1 cent to the 2 euro coin they are: Eugenio Driutti, Luciana De Simoni, Ettore Lorenzo Frapiccini, Claudia Momoni, Maria Angela Cassol, Roberto Mauri, Laura Cretara and Maria Carmela Colaneri. All designs feature the 12 stars of the EU, the year of imprint, the overlapping letters "RI" for Repubblica Italiana (Italian Republic) and the letter R for Rome. There are no Italian euro coins dated earlier than 2002, even though they were minted earlier, as they were first distributed to the public in December 2001. The choice of the design of the coins was left to the Italian public by means of a television broadcast where alternative designs were presented, letting the people vote by calling a certain telephone number. However, the 1 euro coin was missing in this election, because Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, the then economy minister, had already decided it
Las monedas de euro italianas tienen un diseño único para cada denominación, aunque hay un tema común de las famosas obras de arte italianas de uno de los famosos artistas italianos. Cada moneda es diseñada por un diseñador diferente, desde el 1 centavo a la moneda de 2 euros son: Eugenio Driutti, Luciana De Simoni, Ettore Lorenzo Frapiccini, Claudia Momoni, Maria Angela Cassol, Roberto Mauri, Laura Cretara y Maria Carmela Colaneri. Todos los diseños cuentan con las 12 estrellas de la UE, el año de impresión, las letras superpuestas "RI" para Repubblica Italiana (República Italiana) y la letra R para Roma. No hay monedas de euro italianas datadas antes de 2002, aunque se minaron antes, ya que fueron distribuidas al público por primera vez en diciembre de 2001. La elección del diseño de las monedas fue dejada al público italiano por medio de una transmisión televisiva donde se presentaron diseños alternativos, permitiendo a la gente votar llamando un número de teléfono determinado.