Depicts a vessel sailing floating under the twelve stars of the European Union, representing Europe. The issue year on the left, the monogram of the Italian Republic (RI) on the right, and the engraver's name below.

Depicts the fan-like auditorium of the Helsinki University of Technology (now Aalto University) in Otaniemi, an architectural masterpiece by Alvar Aalto; at the base, on the left, the mintmark "R"; in the centre, the coin's value “20 EURO”; on the right, the signature of the artist “A. AALTO”; on top, arch-shaped “Europe of Arts”.

Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto (1898–1976) was a Finnish architect and designer. His work includes architecture, furniture, textiles and glassware, as well as sculptures and paintings. His architectural work, throughout his entire career, is characterized by a concern for design as Gesamtkunstwerk—a total work of art in which he, together with his first wife Aino Aalto, would design not only the building but the interior surfaces, furniture, lamps, and glassware as well. His furniture designs are considered Scandinavian Modern, an aesthetic reflected in their elegant simplification and concern for materials, especially wood, but also in Aalto's technical innovations, which led him to receive patents for various manufacturing processes, such as those used to produce bentwood.

Aalto was featured in the 50 markkaa note in the last series of the Finnish markka (before its replacement by the Euro in 2002).