Dr. Emilio Diena (January 26, 1860 – October 9, 1941), was an Italian philatelist who specialized in the postage stamps of Italy and published substantial research on the subject. He was probably the best known Continental philatelist of his generation.Obituary, Dr. Emilio Diena, F.R.P.S.L., Philatelic Journal of India (March 1942), p. 35.

Collecting interests

Diena collected and studied classic and rare postage stamps and postal history of Italy as well as the Italian states which issued their own postage stamps prior to

Italian unification The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single ...

in the 19th century.

Philatelic literature

Diena accumulated a large library of Italian-related philatelic literature which is still maintained by his family today in

Rome, Italy , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (Romulus and Remus, legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg ...

. He became an expert on Italian stamps and in addition to expertizing rare stamps of the classic period of Italy, he wrote extensively on the subject. In addition to writing numerous articles in philatelic journals, Diena wrote in great detail on stamps of

Modena Modena (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language#Dialects, Modenese, Mòdna ; ett, Mutna; la, Mutina) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern I ...

Romagna Romagna ( rgn, Rumâgna) is an Italian historical region that approximately corresponds to the south-eastern portion of present-day Emilia-Romagna, North Italy. Traditionally, it is limited by the Apennines to the south-west, the Adriatic to t ...

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...

, and

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

during the 1920s and 1930s.

Philatelic activity

Dr. Diena often served as a judge on matters related to rare stamps of Italy as well as the Italian states which issued their own postage stamps prior to

in the 19th century. These included Modena, Romagna, Sicily, Naples and Parma He was a Fellow of the Royal Philatelic Society London and served on many international philatelic juries.

Honors and awards

Diena was an original signatory to the

Roll of Distinguished Philatelists The Roll of Distinguished Philatelists (RDP) is a Philately, philatelic award of international scale, created by the Philatelic Congress of Great Britain in 1921. The Roll consists of five pieces of parchment to which the signatories add their n ...

in 1921 and he received the

Lindenberg Medal The Lindenberg Medal is an award given to those who provide “conspicuous service to philately” because of their investigations and contributions to philatelic literature. It is considered by some as the Nobel Prize of Philately.Horst Hille: ' ...

in its first year (in 1906). He was awarded the Tapling Medal in 1929 and the Crawford Medal 1934 for his “Francbolli del Regno di Napoli.” He was elected to the American Philatelic Society Hall of Fame in 2006. From the King of Italy, Diena received the Orders of the Crown of Italy and St. Maurice and St. Lazarus.

Legacy

Diena died at Rome, aged 82, in 1941. The Diena family continued his work in Italian philately. Dr. Enzo Diena, the grandson of Dr. Emilio Diena, was elected to the American Philatelic Society Hall of Fame in 2001.

References and sources

;References ;Sources
Emilio Diena

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Diena, Emilio 1860 births 1941 deaths Philatelic literature Italian philatelists Recipients of the Lindenberg Medal Philately of Italy Signatories to the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists American Philatelic Society