page_title: Guardia di Finanza
section_title: Light Troops Legion (1774)
hierarchical_section_title: Guardia di Finanza / History / Light Troops Legion (1774)
caption_attribution_description: Español: Vehiculo de la Guardia di Finanza italiana
context_page_description: The Guardia di Finanza is an Italian law enforcement agency under the authority of the Minister of Economy and Finance. It is a militarized police force, forming a part of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, not the Ministry of Defence. Guardia di Finanza is essentially responsible for dealing with financial crime and smuggling; it has also evolved into Italy's primary agency for suppressing the illegal drug trade. It maintains over 600 boats and ships and more than 100 aircraft to serve in its mission of patrolling Italy's territorial waters.
  Interpol summarizes the Guardia di Finanza as "a force with military status and nationwide remit for financial crime investigations".
context_section_description: The origins of the Guardia di Finanza date back to October 5, 1774, when the "Light Troops Legion" (Legione truppe leggere) was set up under the King of Sardinia, Victor Amadeus III. This was the first example in Italy of a special corps established and organized for financial surveillance duties along the borders, as well as for military defense.
caption: Guardia di Finanza police in central Rome.
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