Abstract

Since the foundation of the Kingdom of Italy (1861) restrictions on commercial and financial relationships with abroad were first introduced during the First World War (1917). Except for brief periods (1921-26, 1930-34), exchange restrictions persisted, in various forms and degrees, until May the 14th 1990, when the principle of "freedom" in economic and financial transactions with the rest of the world was fully implemented. After a brief survey of the main measures adopted between 1917 and the Bretton Woods Agreements, the paper analyzes the legislative steps which in the 1980's led to the liberalization of 1990. The footnotes contain the elements which identify the measures which have been taken in that decade, offering the reader a guide to this complex legal sources in this field.