Deciding that the Lira deserves to be commemorated is not the result of a rhetoric choice, but the desire to achieve a work of art, highly symbolic to remembering everything that this currency has ever represented throughout Italian economic, social, and cultural development.

Apart from being simply commemorative, this gesture focuses on the creation of a symbol of national identity, a metaphor capable of travelling through time, through the recollections and emotions of entire generations, and the history of an entire country.

An allegiance to the Lira, whose collective memories are able to set into motion its capacity to select, accumulate, and conserve all while embodying space and time in remembrance. A recollection that neither wishes to exalt money, power, or whatever else, be it good or bad, it may represent. It is simply the memory of a symbolic currency which is about to retire, a currency that all of us have grown to love for it has become a strong and distinctive sign of our history.

It is a symbol that deserves to be handed down to future generations, to those who, very shortly, will never know any other currency but the European monetary unit in their daily transactions and exchanges.

The monument will weigh a few tons and will be greatly characterized by a fusion of currency which is out of circulation and otherwise destined undeservedly to industrial use. It will be composed of various alloys, overall in bronze.

The idea is to involve the greatest number of Italians possible in this undertaking, especially children. Children of all ages will be able to participate in the conception of the monument through a national competition publicized by an official bulletin circulated throughout both public and private schools. A jury coordinated by the III Millennium Celebration Committee and composed of specialists and authorities in the Italian cultural, artistic, and economic fields, will choose the best sketches, which will then be designated to the pre-chosen project. Prizes will consist of precious gold medals representing the Lira, and the 'micro lira' in gold and silver (miniature reproductions of our "former" monetary unit of measurement), produced by the Italian National Mint with the authorization of the Italian Treasury Department.

The location of the "Monument to the Italian Lira" has yet to be chosen definitively. A survey issued by a specialized company, will establish its whereabouts. Small, provincial centers will not be excluded from consideration. Foligno, Vinci, and Lucca have already been selected as candidates at present. Large cities will also endorse this unusual, imperishable "Great Monument of Money", which will become a characteristic of the hosting city. All those who contribute to the realization of this monument with a symbolic gesture will be included in the "Founder's Golden Registry" (at most a 200 Lire coin will be admitted and then 'exchanged' with a precious "Micro lira" in silver).

In connection to this "Great Monument of Money", it has been proposed that a specific day every year be proclaimed "Lira Day". In the moment, the most appropriate day seems to be February 28, the last day the Lira will be in circulation.