San Marino 2021 stamps started with a terminally adorable tribute to postal workers and the new sports premiering at the upcoming Olympics. It’s an amusing combination that works well. But then again, the cancel features a cat on a skateboard, so win-win. 

San Marino cancel for March 30, 2021

San Marino is heavy with masterpieces of art and I expected their tribute to Dante to follow with a traditional themed stamp for the 700th anniversary of his death. Designer Davide Pagliardini shocked me with his out of the box design. His work tends to be more typography based and he carried through with his stylings on 3 stamps that that used Dante’s famous words, rather than his visage. Here is one of the stamp sheets:

Interesting and brave choice to ditch the traditional tribute and opt for this layout. Pagliardini has now set the benchmark for any other Dante stamps this year and it’ll be hard to change my opinion that this will be the best of the lot.  

March 

Sport – new Olympic sports
Shows postal workers delivering mail 

4 stamps, cancel

Designer: Franco Matticchio

Release date: March 30, 2021

450th anniversary of the birth of Caravaggio

3 stamps, cancel 3 sheets of 12

Original paintings: courtesy of: Galleria Doria Pamphilj, Roma ©ADP s.r.l.
“Penitent Magdalene”, “San Giovanni Battista” and “Rest on the Flight into Egypt”

Release date: March 30, 2021

80th anniversary of the death of Saint Maximilian Maria Kolbe

Designer: Mauro Mazzara

Release date: March 30, 2021

550th anniversary of the birth of Albrecht Dürer

1 stamp, cancel, sheet of 12

Release date: March 30, 2021

Europa – Endangered National Wildlife

2 stamp, 2 sheets of 12, cancel

• Geotritone (amphibian), visible in sheet selvedge sparrow Monticola Solitarius, the small rodent Moscardinus, the rare mantis Empusa Pennata and the grasshopper Acrometopa Macropoda 
• River Crab visible in sheet selvedgeskunk, the amphibious Bombina Pachypus, the butterfly Zerinthia Cassandra and the fish Barbus Caninus

Designer: Mauro Mazzara

Release date: March 30, 2021

You can see all of 2021’s Europa stamps here Europa 2021 Endangered Wildlife stamps | Bitter Grounds Magazine

San Marino 2021 stamps June

700th anniversary of the death of Dante Alighieri

3 stamps, cancel, sheets of 4

Shows different verses from the Divine Comedy

Designer: Davide Pagliardini

Release date: June 1, 2021

50 years of official relations with the People’s Republic of China

Designer: Giovanni Piccoli

Release date: June 1, 2021

50th anniversary of Doctors without Borders

2 stamps, cancel, sheets of 12

Designer: Riccardo Guasco

Release date: June 1, 2021

200th anniversary of the birth of Anita Garibaldi

Designer: Clorophilla

Release date: June 1, 2021

San Marino-Italia joint issue: Centenary of the detachment of the Carabinieri in San Marino

1 stamp, cancel

Designer: Maria Carmela Perrini
Perrini has designed stamps for the Vatican and Italian post.

Release date: June 1, 2021

You can see Italy’s 2021 stamps, including the joint issue here So tempting! 2021 Italian stamps | Bitter Grounds Magazine 

September 

Dubai World Exposition

1 stamp on a souvenir sheet, cancel
Simili gold foil, 4 Pantone and yellow fluorescent invisible ink

Image shows gothic jewelry from Treasure of Domagnano

Designer: Domenico Liberti

Release date: September 21, 2021

Bicentenary of Homeopathy in Italy

3 stamps, 3 sheets of 20, cancel

Designer: Sandro Fabbri

Release date: September 21, 2021

Italy on the top of Europe

1 stamp, cancel, sheet of 12

Designer: Riccardo Nunziati

Release date: September 21, 2021

Inter Italian Champion 2020-2021

1 stamp, sheet of 12, cancel

Designer: Esploratori dello Spazio

Release date: September 21, 2021

Christmas

2 stamps, 2 sheets of 12, cancel

Paintings:  “Madonna and Child” by Orazio Gentileschi and “Madonna and Child with Saints Francis, John the Baptist, Jerome and Clare:
From Gallerie Nazionali di Arte Antica, Roma (MiC) – Bibliotheca Hertziana, Istituto Max Planck per la storia dell’arte/Enrico Fontolan

Release date: September 21, 2021

65th anniversary of the Council of Europe Development Bank

1 stamp, sheet of 16, cancel

Designer: Mauro Mazzara

Release date: September 21, 2021

150th anniversary of Rome Capital City

1 stamp, sheet of 20, cancel

Stamp image shows details of the Romulus and Remus fresco in the atrium of the Palazzo Pubblico.

Release date: September 21, 2021

25 years of the restoration of Palazzo Pubblico

Palazzo Pubblico was designed by architect Azzurri & built on the site of the 14th  Domus Comunis Magna. Restoration was carried out by architect Gae Aulenti in 1996

Designer: Esploratori dello Spazio

Release date: September 21, 2021

COFFEE SUBSCRIPTIONS:

Enjoying the content?

OR

Check out the Patreon tiers & perks:   Become a Patron!

• Instant Coffee $2 a month
• Espresso Shot $5 month
• Espresso & Stamps $10 per month
• Deluxe Mocha & Box of Stamps tier – $25 per month. 

There are more stamps to enjoy over on the main listing page Stamps by country 2021 | Bitter Grounds Magazine. Pick a country and enjoy the journey.