Italy is a European country with a long Mediterranean coastline. This country has left a powerful mark on Western culture and cuisine. Its capital, Rome, is home to the Vatican as well as landmark art and ancient ruins. Other major cities include Florence, with Renaissance masterpieces such as Michelangelo’s "David" and Brunelleschi's Duomo; Venice, the city of canals; and Milan, Italy’s fashion capital.

Due to its central geographic location in Europe and the Mediterranean, Italy has historically been home to a myriad of peoples and cultures. Italy has a major advanced capitalist mixed economy, ranking as the third-largest in the Eurozone and the eighth-largest in the world. Italy is the world's sixth largest manufacturing country.

The lira (plural “lire”) was the currency of the country during various intervals of its history. From the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy between 1807 and 1814, the Albanian Kingdom between 1941 and 1943 to the introduction of the Euro, Lira was the official currency of Italy. It was subdivided into 100 centesimi.

The note depicted beside has a master and his painting featured on it. This 100000 Lire banknote issued in 1994 has the portrait of Caravaggio, set against the detail of the painting by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio "The Fortune Teller" (Second version c. 1595), housed in Paris at the Louvre Museum; A branch taken from a detail of the painting of Caravaggio's "Rest during the Flight into Egypt" (c. 1597), housed in Rome at the Galleria Doria Pamphilj-Pamphili; Logo depicting winged lion of St. Mark, symbol of Venice above three shields of Genoa, Pisa and Amalfi.

The reverse depicts the "Basket of Fruit" (c. 1599) by Caravaggio, which is on display in Biblioteca Pinacoteca Ambrosiana in Milan.

Isn’t it a feast for eyes!

Image Courtesy: eBay.com