History of Gold in Italy
Italy joined the Latin Monetary Union in 1865, and the Banca d'Italia, formed in 1893, built its gold reserve through the early 20th century, lost much of it during the Second World War and rebuilt it with post-war export earnings. Today the bank holds 2,452 tonnes, one of the world's largest official gold reserves, with about 45% kept in Rome and about 43% in the United States. Italy is the EU's leading jewellery producer, with major gold districts at Arezzo, Vicenza and Valenza.
Facts checked 26 October 2026
Gold in Italy today
- The Banca d'Italia holds 2,452 tonnes of gold: about 1,100 tonnes (44.86%) in Italy, 1,061.5 tonnes (43.29%) in the United States, 149.3 tonnes (6.09%) in Switzerland and 141.2 tonnes (5.76%) in the United Kingdom.
- Italy is the EU's leading jewellery producer, with about 33,000 people employed (27.5% of the EU total) and production worth close to EUR 15.5 billion; in the first quarter of 2025 gold, silver and jewellery exports were about EUR 3.35 billion, down 9.1%.
Timeline: gold in Italy
- 1865Latin Monetary Union
Italy joined France, Belgium and Switzerland in the Latin Monetary Union, adopting the French standard for gold and silver coins.
- 1893Banca d'Italia founded with a gold endowment
Three banks of issue merged to form the Banca d'Italia, bringing an initial gold reserve of about 78 tonnes, mostly from the Banca Nazionale nel Regno.
- 1926Sole bank of issue
When the Banca d'Italia became the only bank allowed to issue notes, the gold of the Banco di Napoli and Banco di Sicilia, about 70 tonnes, passed to it.
- 1933Pre-war peak
The gold reserve passed 561 tonnes in 1933, but heavy sales before Italy entered the war cut it to about 106 tonnes.
- 1943Gold taken north under German occupation
September 1943. After the September 1943 armistice, German authorities ordered the gold moved north, first to Milan and then to Fortezza. In 1944 further amounts were removed under a German agreement with the Italian Social Republic.
- 1945Gold returned to Rome
May 1945. The Allies returned the remaining gold to Rome in May 1945. Later restitutions in 1946-1958 recovered only part of what was taken, and about 25 tonnes were lost.
- 1951Post-war gold build-up
As Italy's exports boomed, the foreign exchange office (UIC) bought large amounts of gold from 1951 to 1960. Transfers in 1960 and 1965 totalling 1,889 tonnes raised the Banca d'Italia's holdings to 2,136 tonnes.
- 1976Gold pledged for a Bundesbank loan
During a balance-of-payments crisis, Italy pledged gold as collateral for a loan from the Bundesbank.
- 1998UIC gold transferred
The gold held by the Ufficio Italiano Cambi was finally transferred to the Banca d'Italia.
- 1999Gold contributed to the ECB
5 January 1999. At the start of monetary union, 141 tonnes were transferred to the ECB, leaving the 2,452 tonnes the bank still holds.
- 2026Fourth-largest gold holder
With 2,452 tonnes, the Banca d'Italia describes itself as the world's fourth-largest gold holder after the US, Germany and the IMF. An outside auditor checks the gold in Rome every year.
Jewellery and hallmarks in Italy
- 2017Bulgari factory in Valenza
Bulgari, the Rome jeweller owned by LVMH, started production at a new factory in Valenza, Piedmont, lifting the district's exports to France.
- 2018Three gold districts
Valenza, Vicenza and Arezzo are Italy's three main gold and jewellery districts; in 2018 Valenza's exports were reported at about EUR 537 million.
- 2025Arezzo leads exports
Arezzo was Italy's top province for jewellery exports in the first quarter of 2025, with over EUR 1.4 billion, or 41.3% of the sector's exports.
- 2025Europe's leading jewellery maker
Italy employs about 33,000 people in jewellery making, more than any other EU country, and is Europe's top jewellery exporter.
Sources (7)
- Franc - Encyclopedie Larousse
- Riserve in oro - Banca d'Italia
- Le riserve auree della Banca d'Italia (Banca d'Italia text, copy hosted by BullionStar)
- Jewellery exports 2018: the first 6 months' figures for Vicenza, Valenza and Arezzo - Vicenzaoro
- Made of Italy: Jewelry in Numbers - VO+
- Tassazione cripto-attivita: tutte le novita della Legge di Bilancio 2025 - edotto
- Criptovalute in Italia, nuove regole fiscali dal 2026 - MilanoFinanza
History compiled from the sources listed, which we opened and checked in October 2026. Dates follow those sources; where they differ, we say so or leave the detail out.
Cite this page
For essays, articles and research. Prices on this page update daily, so the citations include today's date as the date you accessed it.
@misc{corgano2026historyofgoldin, author = {{Corgano}}, title = {History of Gold in Italy}, howpublished = {\url{https://goldprice.corgano.com/gold-history/italy}}, year = {2026}, note = {Corgano Gold Price, accessed 2026-10-26}}