Under the Bank of Italy, there is a lot of gold. The Bank of Italy is near the Colosseum in Rome. The gold is worth 300 billion dollars. Italy now has the third-largest gold reserve in the world. A gold reserve is gold that a country keeps safe. Only the United States and Germany have more gold than Italy. Many people want Italy to sell some gold. But Italy says no.

Italy’s love of gold is very old. The ancient Romans used gold coins. They built a big empire with gold. Many centuries later, Italy had a gold coin called the fiorino. The fiorino was very important in Europe. People used it for trade everywhere. It was like the dollar today. But Italy’s modern gold policy started after World War Two. A policy is a plan or a rule.

Bad things happened in World War Two. Nazi forces came to Italy. Italy’s own fascist government helped them. The fascist government was a dictatorship. The Nazis took 120 tons of Italian gold. A ton is 1,000 kilograms. By 1945, Italy only had 20 tons of gold left. Italy lost almost all its gold. This was terrible for the country. Because of this loss, Italy now protects its gold very carefully. The trauma changed everything. Trauma means a very bad experience that you never forget.

After the war, Italy’s economy grew fast. People call this time the economic miracle. A miracle is something amazing and surprising. Italy started selling many products to other countries. This is called being an export powerhouse. Money from other countries came into Italy. Italy changed this foreign money into gold. Italy bought more and more gold every year. By 1960, Italy had 1,400 tons of gold. This was much more than before.

Then the 1970s came. This was a difficult time. Oil became very expensive. This is called an oil shock. There was uncertainty everywhere. Uncertainty means people don’t know what will happen. Italy had problems inside the country too. There were protests and the government changed many times. Money started leaving Italy. In 1976, Italy needed to borrow money. Rome put up 41,000 gold bars as collateral. Collateral is something valuable you give to get a loan. The loan was 2 billion dollars from Germany. But here is the important thing: Italy never sold the gold. Italy only used it as collateral.

This makes Italy different from other countries. Britain sold gold when it had money problems. Spain sold gold too. But Italy kept its gold. Even in 2008, there was a terrible debt crisis. A debt crisis is when a country owes too much money. Italy had big problems. But Italy still didn’t sell its gold. If other European countries had kept their gold, they would have a lot of money now. But they sold it. They don’t have it anymore.

Why is gold so important? Gold is like insurance. Insurance protects you when bad things happen. When money becomes worthless, gold still has value. When governments fall, gold still has value. When people lose confidence, gold still has value. Confidence means trust and belief. Gold is like special silverware in a family. You keep it for many generations. It is the last thing you would ever sell.

Today, gold is 75 percent of Italy’s official reserves. This is much higher than other eurozone countries. The eurozone is the group of countries that use the euro. About 1,100 tons of gold are in vaults under Palazzo Koch. Palazzo Koch is a building in Rome. A vault is a very safe room under the ground. Another 1,100 tons are in the United States. Smaller amounts are in Britain and Switzerland. Italy keeps its gold in different places for safety.

Some politicians have an idea. They want to sell half of Italy’s gold. They say this money could help with Italy’s public debt. Italy’s public debt is now over 3 trillion euros. That is a very big number. The politicians say the gold just sits in vaults. It doesn’t do anything. But schools need money. Hospitals need money. However, economists disagree. Economists are people who study money and the economy. They say selling gold won’t solve the debt problem. The numbers are too big. Selling gold won’t be enough.

Right now, central banks around the world are buying gold again. Central banks are the main banks of countries. They control money. The world is changing a lot. Nations want protection. They want to feel safe. Digital currencies are becoming popular. Digital currencies are money on computers, not physical money. This makes physical gold seem very old. But it also makes gold seem very modern and important at the same time.

Italy will not change its mind. Italy will keep its gold. This decision started decades ago. Decades means periods of ten years. The decision came from the loss in the war. Italy rebuilt its gold reserve with hard work and determination. Determination means you never give up. Now this decision looks very smart. Gold prices are at record highs. Record highs means the highest prices ever. Italy was right to keep its gold.