MILAN, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Italy will work to exit the capital of bailed-out lender Monte dei Paschi di Siena with a view to creating a banking landscape with several large groups, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Thursday.

Meloni said Monte dei Paschi had been "very badly handled" by previous governments leading to taxpayers spending billions of euros to prop up the Tuscan lender, whose restructuring however "appears rather solid."

"We are working to ensure the state can exit in an orderly manner and, from my point of view, to create the conditions for Italy to have several large banking groups," she told a news conference. (Reporting by Alvise Armellini, writing by Valentina Za, editing by Gavin Jones)