La travagliata strada verso l’euro: l’attacco alla lira del settembre 1992

This article analyzes Italy’s path towards the narrow band of the European Monetary System (EMS), the currency crisis of 1992 with the subsequent exit of the lira from the EMS, and the consequences of the crisis. In addition to offering a summary reconstruction of the events that led to the exit of the lira and the British pound from the EMS, this essay insists on the European, and not exclusively Italian, dimension of the crisis, showing the prevalence of institutional inertia and national interests at a continental level. Italy proved to be a particularly fragile actor in a context of systematic weakness. The essay also draws attention to the importance that US interests had for the 1992 crisis and its resolution. Finally, we argue that the crisis was a blessing in disguise, as it forced Italy to pursue a virtuous policy to join the Euro project.