Italy Money

Whether you want to explore the evocative ruins of an ancient empire, traverse Tuscany's vineyard-cloaked hills, or simply sip espresso and watch the world go by, your DK travel guide makes sure you experience all that Italy has to offer.

Thanks to the collaboration with renowned economists and policymakers, the publication compares Italian and German macro-economic cultures and performances. When the Bretton Woods system crumbled and currencies lost their direct link to the dollar and their indirect link to gold, these two countries embarked upon strongly different monetary policies. This divergence was reflected in the evolution of the exchange rates: the value of one D-Mark increased from 170 Italian lira under Bretton Woods to 990 Italian lira at the start of European Monetary Union: an astounding devaluation of about 85 per cent for the lira!