Home
 August 1, 1929: The Vatican Post Office opens, and issues its first stamps. In a design depicting the crossed keys emblem of the Vatican, the first seven stamps were issued in the denominations of 5c to 75c. The next six stamps, priced from 80c to 10 lira, featured a portrait of Pope Pius XI, as did the two Espresso stamps of the release. The first design was printed by the intaglio process and the second by photogravure. These stamps are described in the following section of today's Daily Email. As we look back at the beginning of postal services in the Vatican City State, it is worth asking a most basic question: how did postal services arise in the first place? The articles in the References below provide concise and interesting histories of mail services and philately and the role of the Church in the development of postal systems. As it turns out, the word “post” comes from “Apostolis”, or the sending of “Apostolic Letters” from the Roman Curia and the Papacy. Dating back to the 800's (and perhaps earlier), the Church used messengers (“cursores”) to carry documents, primarily on horseback, between abbeys and convents. One must remember that during these times most common folk could not read or write, and they rarely traveled. Thus, general demand for such services was minimal. However, as commerce began to flourish in the 15th century, the need for long distance communication increased, leading to the advent of the Poste Universitarie and the Merchant Post. The pope was asked if methods could be instituted to allow for diplomatic mail between the Pope and diplomats to be transmitted via couriers. This led to the establishment of “National Post Offices”. The first foreign office was established in Spain by Pope Alexander VI in 1499, and was immediately followed by offices in Naples and Milan. Fast forward about 300 years, and postal systems are well established in Europe and around the world. The first postage stamps as we know them appear in Great Britain in 1840, and shortly thereafter the first stamps of the Roman or Pontifical States were released in 1852. The Roman States postal system was very well run and efficient, but within 18 years the Papal States were no more, having been enveloped within the Kingdom of Italy during the period of Italian Unification. For the next 50+ years, the Vatican had no postal services of its own. However, with the ratification of the Lateran Pacts of 1929, and the establishment of Vatican City State, it was evident that the Vatican would need to set up its own postal service. As presented in the Poste Vaticane article in the References: "In accordance with article 2 of the Lateran Treaty of 2 June 1929, Italy recognized 'the sovereignty of the Holy See in international matters as an inherent attribute in conformity with its traditions and the requirements of its mission to the world'. Thus, the rights of the new State had been wholly recognized, which included the right to have its own postal service. Vatican City State was admitted into the Universal Postal Union on 1 June 1929, and the Italian government agreed to provide personnel and materials to establish the service. On 29 June 1929, Vatican City State and the Italian State reached an agreement on the execution of postal services on the basis of the Stockholm Convention of 28 August 1924, the Fundamental Law of Vatican State and the Sources of Law, respectively n.1 and n. 2 of 7 June 1929, promulgated by the Pope. The Vatican postal service was established by Decree VIII of 30 July 1929 and launched on 1 August of that year."And so began the postal services of the Vatican City State, a service which continues to this day and provides untold fulfillment and happiness to those who collect and study the stamps and postal history of the Vatican. REFERENCES: |
