Italy year 1879 stamp – 25c King Umberto I

Italy year 1879 stamp – 25c King Umberto I

Postage stamps and postal history of Italy

The first postage stamps in Italy were issued by the Sardinian kingdom. In 1850, Count Camillo Cavour played a significant role in proposing postal reform. Several other Italian states also issued their own postage stamps. Here’s a timeline of when these states issued stamps:

Tuscany: April 1851

Papal States: January 1852

Modena: June 1852

Parma: June 1852

Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (Naples): January 1858

Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (Sicily): January 1859

Romagna: September 1859

Additionally, in the Lombardo-Venetian kingdom under the Austrian Empire, stamps were issued with denominations in the local currency. These developments marked the proliferation of postage stamp usage across various Italian states during the mid-19th century.

Postage stamps, mostly perforated, were introduced for the Kingdom of Italy in 1862 by using the same imperforate stamps of the Kingdom of Sardinia. But the King was the same- Victor Emmanuel II. His effigy then appeared on the stamps of Italy from 1863-77.

King Humbert I (Umberto I), he with the wide handlebar mustache, was portrayed from 1879-1896.

Then Victor Emmanuel III appeared in 1901, and had his 25th year anniversary stamp issue in 1925-26, under the spectre of Mussolini. So ends this history- to be continued with the next instalment.