This is an introduction to the postal and philatelic history of Italy. As

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

was not unified until 1861, its early

postal history Postal history is the study of postal systems and how they operate and, or, the study of the use of postage stamps and covers and associated postal artifacts illustrating historical episodes in the development of postal systems. The term is at ...

is tied to the various kingdoms and smaller realms that ruled in the peninsula.

Pre-unification

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres - Joseph-Antoine Moltedo - Google Art Project

Napoleonic Italy (1805–1814)

During the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fre ...

, the geopolitical instability of the region led to a wide variety in postal systems. In the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...

, the short-lived Italian Republic, and other dependent regions, Napoleon appointed postal administrators loyal to him. After the Treaty of Paris in 1814, the independent Italian kingdoms regained control of their postal systems.

1814–1860

The '' Cavallini'' ("little horses") of

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label= Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, aft ...

was an early private

mail The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letters, and parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid-19th century, national postal sys ...

service, notable for the introduction of prepaid stamped lettersheets in 1819. The first postage stamps in Italy were also issued by the Sardinian kingdom. In 1850, Count

Camillo Cavour Camillo Paolo Filippo Giulio Benso, Count of Cavour, Isolabella and Leri (, 10 August 1810 – 6 June 1861), generally known as Cavour ( , ), was an Italian politician, businessman, economist and noble, and a leading figure in the movement towa ...

drafted a report to the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

of the

Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia The Kingdom of Sardinia,The name of the state was originally Latin: , or when the kingdom was still considered to include Corsica. In Italian it is , in French , in Sardinian , and in Piedmontese . also referred to as the Kingdom of Savoy-S ...

proposing postal reform along the lines of that which had been adopted in several European states, and providing for the introduction of

postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the f ...

s, for which a new word - ''francobollo'' - was coined. The reform became law in November, and went into effect 1 January 1851. After some casting around for expertise in the newfangled art of stamp printing, the government settled on the house of Francesco Matraire in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

. Postage stamps of the Sardinian kingdom with the embossed profile of

Victor Emmanuel II en, Victor Emmanuel Maria Albert Eugene Ferdinand Thomas , house = Savoy , father = Charles Albert of Sardinia , mother = Maria Theresa of Austria , religion = Roman Catholicism , image_size = 252px , succession ...

without indicating the name of the state were printed by Matraire and issued on January 1, 1851. Following Sardinia, other Italian states also issued stamps. These include

Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...

(April 1851), the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...

(January 1852),

Modena Modena (, , ; egl, label= 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 Italy. A town, and seat o ...

(June 1852),

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

(June 1852),

Kingdom of the Two Sicilies The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies ( it, Regno delle Due Sicilie) was a kingdom in Southern Italy from 1816 to 1860. The kingdom was the largest sovereign state by population and size in Italy before Italian unification, comprising Sicily and al ...

(Naples - January 1858; Sicily - January 1859),

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 th ...

(September 1859) . In the Lombardo-Venetian kingdom under the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central- Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...

, stamps were also issued with denominations in the local currency.

Gallery of Italian Stamps, 1814–1860

File:1850issue 15centes rot typeIIIa LV Verona Mi3Xc.jpg, Stamp of the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, 1850 File:StampSardinia1851Michel1.jpg, Stamp of the

Kingdom of Sardinia The Kingdom of Sardinia,The name of the state was originally Latin: , or when the kingdom was still considered to include Corsica. In Italian it is , in French , in Sardinian , and in Piedmontese . also referred to as the Kingdom of Savoy-S ...

, 1851 File:Stamp Parma 1852 5c.jpg, The first stamp of the Duchy of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla, 1852 File:Italy Modena 1852 Mi.4II.jpg, Stamp of the Duchy of Modena, 1852 File:Tuscany 1853 1C Mi4by.jpg, Stamp of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, 1853 File:Stamp of Naples1858.jpg, Stamp for Naples in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, 1858 File:StampSicilia1859.jpg, Stamp for Sicily in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, 1859 File:StampRomagna1859Michel1.jpg, Stamp of the Papal State of Romagna, 1859 File:Papalstate2centesimi1867scott12.jpg, Stamp of the Papal States, 1867

The Kingdom of Italy

Following the

unification of Italy 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 ...

during 1860 and 1861, stamps in use in each of the territories that joined Italy were withdrawn from circulation and replaced with the stamps of the Sardinian kingdom. The transition took place in Modena, Parma and Romagna on February 1, 1860, in Naples on September 15, 1862 (although local authorities had previously printed stamps depicting the coat of arms of

Savoy Savoy (; frp, Savouè ; french: Savoie ) is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south. Sa ...

), and in the Papal States - only in 1870. Matraire's stamps were reprinted several times, and those printed after 17 March 1861 are usually considered the first stamps of the

Perforated A perforation is a small hole in a thin material or web. There is usually more than one perforation in an organized fashion, where all of the holes collectively are called a ''perforation''. The process of creating perforations is called perfor ...

stamps of the fourth standard edition of the Sardinian kingdom with an embossed profile of Victor Emmanuel II were issued in 1862. Starting on 1 January 1863, uniform postal rates went into effect. In 1862 Count Ambjörn Sparre won the stamp contract, but his designs were not liked, and he seemed unable to produce the stamps. In danger of running out of stamps altogether, at the end of 1862 the Italian government once again turned to Matraire, who quickly produced a stamp with a nominal value of 15 centesimo by

lithography Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...

, depicting the profile of King Victor Emanuel II and the inscription "Postale italiano". The contract with Count Sparre was annulled in March 1863, and a new contract was given to the British printing house

De La Rue De La Rue plc (, ) is a British company headquartered in Basingstoke, England, that designs and produces banknotes, secure polymer substrate and banknote security features (including security holograms, security threads and security printe ...

. A series of eight stamps with the inscription “Poste italiane” in denominations from 1

centesimo ''Centesimo'' (plural centesimi) is the Italian word for "cent", derived from the Latin ''centesimus'' meaning "hundredth". In Italy it was the division of the Italian lira. Currencies that have centesimo as subunits include: Circulating * Swi ...

to 2

lira Lira is the name of several currency units. It is the current currency of Turkey and also the local name of the currencies of Lebanon and of Syria. It is also the name of several former currencies, including those of Italy, Malta and Israe ...

was issued on December 1, 1863. Italy joined the

Universal Postal Union The Universal Postal Union (UPU, french: link=no, Union postale universelle), established by the Treaty of Bern of 1874, is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that coordinates postal policies among member nations, in addition to ...

on 1 July 1875. Until 1877, Italian stamps were used in

San Marino San Marino (, ), officially the Republic of San Marino ( it, Repubblica di San Marino; ), also known as the Most Serene Republic of San Marino ( it, Serenissima Repubblica di San Marino, links=no), is the fifth-smallest country in the world an ...

Humbert I

Humbert Humbert, Umbert or Humberto (Latinized ''Humbertus'') is a Germanic given name, from ''hun'' "warrior" and ''beraht'' "bright". It also came into use as a surname. Given name ;Royalty and Middle Ages * Emebert (died 710) * Humbert of Maroille ...

succeeded his father in 1878, which necessitated a new issue of stamps. First appearing on 15 August 1879, they were the first stamps of the kingdom to be entirely designed, engraved, and printed by Italians. Since considerable stocks of Victor Emmanuel stamps were left over and finances were poor, the old stamps continued in use for some years, and some values of Humbert's stamps were little-used during his reign. Stamp Italy 1917airmailC1

The new series incorporated rates and colors mandated by the

Victor Emmanuel III

The first stamps with a portrait of

Victor Emanuel III Victor Emmanuel III (Vittorio Emanuele Ferdinando Maria Gennaro di Savoia; 11 November 1869 – 28 December 1947) was King of Italy from 29 July 1900 until his abdication on 9 May 1946. He also reigned as Emperor of Ethiopia (1936–1941) and K ...

appeared in July 1901. The first series of commemorative stamps was issued in April 1910 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Expedition of the Thousand. The world's first

airmail stamp An airmail stamp is a postage stamp intended to pay either an airmail fee that is charged in addition to the surface rate, or the full airmail rate, for an item of mail to be transported by air. Airmail stamps should not be confused with airma ...

s were issued in 1917 when Poste italiane overprinted their existing special delivery stamps.

Fascist regime

''The Imperial Series''

Until 1929, all definitive stamps were issued with the portrait of the king or the coat of arms. In April 1929, the so-called "Imperial Series" ("Serie Imperiale") was released, the first definitive series of

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in ...

's fascist government. The stamp designs featured images of the Capitoline she-wolf with

Romulus and Remus In Roman mythology, Romulus and Remus (, ) are twin brothers whose story tells of the events that led to the founding of the city of Rome and the Roman Kingdom by Romulus, following his fratricide of Remus. The image of a she-wolf sucklin ...

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...

, Octavian Augustus and '' Italia'', and contained the

fasces Fasces ( ; ; a '' plurale tantum'', from the Latin word '' fascis'', meaning "bundle"; it, fascio littorio) is a bound bundle of wooden rods, sometimes including an axe (occasionally two axes) with its blade emerging. The fasces is an Italian sym ...

, symbol of the fascist regime.

Italian Social Republic

In 1943, the Germans set up the

Italian Social Republic The Italian Social Republic ( it, Repubblica Sociale Italiana, ; RSI), known as the National Republican State of Italy ( it, Stato Nazionale Repubblicano d'Italia, SNRI) prior to December 1943 but more popularly known as the Republic of Salò ...

(RSI) in northern Italy, a Nazi puppet state with Mussolini installed as leader after he was rescued by German paratroopers. File:Ancona, cattedrale di S. Ciriaco - francobollo della Repubblica Sociale Italiana.jpg, Stamp of the Italian Social Republic, 1944 File:ITA 1944 MiNr0655Y mt B002.jpg, Stamp of the Italian Social Republic, 1944 File:ITA 1944 MiNr0657Y mt B002.jpg, Stamp of the Italian Social Republic, 1944 File:ITA 1944 MiNr0659Y mt B002.jpg, Stamp of the Italian Social Republic, 1944

Italian Republic

Italy became a republic after a

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a Representative democr ...

held on 2 June 1946.

''Fiume'' stamp controversy

In 2007, the issue of an Italian stamp featuring the

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capi ...

n city of

Rijeka Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Prim ...

caused a controversy. The stamp referred to the city in its usual Italian name of ''Fiume'', claiming it was former Italian territory. This is seen as offensive in

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capi ...

Aegean Islands issues

The Italian Islands of the Aegean were the Italian possession in the

Dodecanese The Dodecanese (, ; el, Δωδεκάνησα, ''Dodekánisa'' , ) are a group of 15 larger plus 150 smaller Greek islands in the southeastern Aegean Sea and Eastern Mediterranean, off the coast of Turkey's Anatolia, of which 26 are inhabited ...

from 1912 to 1945. Italian stamps overprinted "Egeo" and "Isole Italiane dell' Egeo" were issued for the Islands. Stamps were also issued for the individual islands: Calchi (Karki), Calino (Calimno),

Kasos Kasos (; el, Κάσος, ), also Casos, is a Greek island municipality in the Dodecanese. It is the southernmost island in the Aegean Sea, and is part of the Karpathos regional unit. The capital of the island is Fri. , its population was 1 ...

(Caso),

Cos Cos, COS, CoS, coS or Cos. may refer to: Mathematics, science and technology * Carbonyl sulfide * Class of service (CoS or COS), a network header field defined by the IEEE 802.1p task group * Class of service (COS), a parameter in telephone syst ...

(Coo),

Leros Leros ( el, Λέρος) is a Greek island and municipality in the Dodecanese in the southern Aegean Sea. It lies (171 nautical miles) from Athens's port of Piraeus, from which it can be reached by an 9-hour ferry ride or by a 45-minute flig ...

(Lero), Leipsoi (Lisso),

Nisyros Nisyros also spelled Nisiros ( el, Νίσυρος, Nísiros) is a volcanic Greek island and municipality located in the Aegean Sea. It is part of the Dodecanese group of islands, situated between the islands of Kos and Tilos. Its shape is a ...

(Nisiro),

Patmos Patmos ( el, Πάτμος, ) is a Greek island in the Aegean Sea. It is famous as the location where John of Patmos received the visions found in the Book of Revelation of the New Testament, and where the book was written. One of the norther ...

(Patmo), Tilos (Piscopi),

Rhodes Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the S ...

(Rodi),

Karpathos Karpathos ( el, Κάρπαθος, ), also Carpathos, is the second largest of the Greek Dodecanese islands, in the southeastern Aegean Sea. Together with the neighboring smaller Saria Island it forms the municipality of Karpathos, which is part of ...

(Scarpanto),

Symi Symi, also transliterated as Syme or Simi ( el, Σύμη), is a Greek island and municipality. It is mountainous and includes the harbor town of Symi and its adjacent upper town Ano Symi, as well as several smaller localities, beaches, and areas ...

(Simi), and

Astypalaia Astypalaia (Greek: Αστυπάλαια, ), is a Greek island with 1,334 residents (2011 census). It belongs to the Dodecanese, an archipelago of fifteen major islands in the southeastern Aegean Sea. The island is long, wide at the most, and ...

(Stampalia). File:Francobollo di Rodi - 50 cent - 1929 - serie pittorica.jpg, A stamp for the island of Rodi File:Piscopi Briefmarke.jpg, A stamp for the island of Piscopi

Venezia Giulia issues

Italy annexed Venezia Giulia - including the Istrian peninsula and the cities of

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into pr ...

and

Gorizia Gorizia (; sl, Gorica , colloquially 'old Gorizia' to distinguish it from Nova Gorica; fur, label= Standard Friulian, Gurize, fur, label= Southeastern Friulian, Guriza; vec, label= Bisiacco, Gorisia; german: Görz ; obsolete English ''Gori ...

with the Treaty of Rapallo (1920). With the

Treaty of Rome (1924) The Treaty of Rome was agreed on 27 January 1924, when Italy and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes agreed that Fiume would be annexed to Italy as the Province of Fiume, and the town of Sušak would be part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croa ...

the city of

Fiume Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Prim ...

was also annexed. After the war, from 1945 to 1947, Venezia Giulia was occupied by Allied Anglo-American troops (Zone “A” - the territory with the city of Trieste) and troops of the

Yugoslav People's Army The Yugoslav People's Army (abbreviated as JNA/; Macedonian and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian and bs, Jugoslavenska narodna armija; sl, Jugoslovanska ljudska ar ...

(Zone “B” -

Istria Istria ( ; Croatian and Slovene: ; ist, Eîstria; Istro-Romanian, Italian and Venetian: ; formerly in Latin and in Ancient Greek) is the largest peninsula within the Adriatic Sea. The peninsula is located at the head of the Adriatic betwe ...

and the Slovene Littoral). The zones of occupation were demarcated along the so-called Morgan Line. In Zone A, Italian stamps were overprinted "A.M.G./V.G." (Allied Military Government/Venezia Giulia) in September 1945. In 1947, following the

Paris Peace Treaties The Paris Peace Treaties (french: Traités de Paris) were signed on 10 February 1947 following the end of World War II in 1945. The Paris Peace Conference lasted from 29 July until 15 October 1946. The victorious wartime Allied powers (princ ...

, Italy ceded most of these lands to Yugoslavia. StampVenezia-Giulia1945Michel1

Free Territory of Trieste

The peace treaty established

and the surrounding area as the Free Territory of Trieste, also divided into zones A and B, under Allied military administration and Yugoslav military administration, respectively. In Zone A, Italian stamps overprinted "A.M.G./F.T.T." were issued between 1947 and 1954. The Free Territory was divided between Italy and Yugoslavia in 1954, with Zone A joining Italy.

Campione d'Italia issues

Campione d'Italia Campione d'Italia (Comasco: , ) is a '' comune'' of the Province of Como in the Lombardy region of Italy and an enclave surrounded by the Swiss canton of Ticino (it is also an exclave). At its closest, the enclave is less than from the res ...

is a small Italian

exclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

surrounded by

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

near Lake Lugano. The municipal council issued its own stamps in May 1944. The stamps were inscribed "RR Poste italiane / Comune de Campione" and denominated in the Swiss currency. Campione stamps were withdrawn in 1952. Since then, mail may be sent using either Swiss stamps or Italian stamps.

Italian post offices abroad

The first stamps for the Italian post offices abroad were issued on January 1, 1874, overprinting “Estero” (“Abroad”) on Italian stamps. *Italian post offices in Benghazi 1901–1912 *Italian post offices in Tripoli 1909–1912 *Italian post offices in Peking 1917–1922 *Italian post offices in Tientsin 1917–1922 *Italian post offices in Crete *Italian post offices in Egypt *Italian post offices in the Ottoman Empire 1873–1923 File: StampCreteItaly1901Michel2.jpg, Stamp for the Italian post offices in

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...

File:ITA-LV 1907 MiNrLV007 pm B002.jpg, Stamp for the Italian post offices in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

File:Francobollo Regno d'Italia - Pechino - 1 Cent.jpg, Stamp for the Italian post offices in Peking File:TientsinItalianStamp.jpg, Stamp for the Italian post offices in Tientsin File:Tripoli di Barberia 5c 1909.jpg, Stamp for the Italian post offices in Tripoli

References and sources

;References ;Sources * Dehn, Roy A. ''Italian Stamps: a Handbook for Collectors''. London: Heinemann, 1973. * Stanley Gibbons Ltd: various catalogues.
Encyclopaedia of Postal Authorities
* Rossiter, Stuart & John Flower. ''The Stamp Atlas''. London: Macdonald, 1986.

External links

Tony Clayton's Stamps of Italy and Italian Colonies
{{DEFAULTSORT:Postage Stamps And Postal History Of Italy Postal system of Italy Philately of Italy

1861 establishments in Italy