Historical Sketch

In the mid-16th century, Parma and Piacenza were detached from the Papal States and became a Duchy under the Farnese family. The crown passed to the House of Bourbon in 1731 when the Farnese branch became extinct. Briefly afterwards, the small Duchy of Guastalla was added to the realm. In 1796, the state was conquered by Napoleonic France. The ruling duke remained on the throne until his death in 1802, followed by three nominal dukes without sovereign rights in the different parts of the Duchy. Finally in 1808, Parma was formally annexed to France. The 1815 Congress of Vienna restored the state as Duchy of Parma, Piacenza, and Guastalla under the rule of Napoleon's second wife form the house of Habsburg. After her death 1847, the throne passed again to the Bourbon-Parma family. In compensation, Guastalla was ceded to Modena, which was ruled by the Austria-Este branch of the House of Habsburg. In 1859, Parma was occupied by the Italian revolutionary forces, then annexed to neighboring Sardinia (Piedmont) in 1859 and finally integrated into the Kingdom of Italy two years later.

Monetary History Overview

Until the early 19th century, the three Duchies of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla were separate states with distinct units of account, called Lira each. However, the production of coins had already ceased in the 18th century. In 1796, the three states were conquered by France and took over the French and (Napoleonic) Italian currencies. The 1815 Vienna Congress recreated the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza (and Guastalla) as independent state. The 1819 coinage law introduced the Parmesan (New) Lira in the French bimetallic standard. Local gold and silver coins, as well as subsidiary coinage, were issued and circulated alongside the former (Napoleonic) Italian and Sardinian ones, which were all following the same standard. In June 1859, Parma was annexed by Sardinia. The Parmesan Lira formally disappeared after the unification of Italy.

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