It originated from the Carolingian monetary system used in much of Western Europe since the 8th century CE, with the lira subdivided into 20 soldi, each of 12 denari.
The Venetian grosso then became Venice's most important silver coin from the 13th to 15th centuries.
The various currency systems of Italy became of less importance to European trade after the Age of Discovery in the 16th century; nonetheless Venice continued to issue new coins.
A huge variety of coins were minted under their post-1750 currency system when the lira piccola contained 2.4 grams fine silver, with many coins having unique names as follows:[2][3] The provisional government issued silver tolleros worth 10 lire piccoli in 1797.
These were followed during the Austrian occupation by silver 1⁄2, 1, 1+1⁄2 and 2 lire provinciale worth much less than the lira piccola.