San Marino’s stamps zip in with a tribute to Vespa – the single best scooter ever designed, aviation and racing. This year San Marino is offering a master class in creating vivid designs that deliver a message quickly. Three issues stand out already – two for their simplicity and the third for its sense of speed and rushing air.
The first two stamps that made me turn my head are devoted to racing. I’m an aviation kind of person, and have spent little time learning about the sport, but these two stamps, and cancels, piqued my interest The combination of clean, simple designs and strong contrasting in colours serves up a graphic punch.
You don’t need to know much about racing to quickly understand the stamps. The first two images are a tribute to racing great Ayrton Senna. The use of a helmet and the small s on the right of the image successfully mimics a winding race track. A beautiful design right down to the use of deep blue and yellow colours to create a sense of energy. The second one is very much a minimalist tribute to a classic road race that made a stop in San Marino this year. Designer Ilaria Tomat created a mini poster using a vintage car motif and a simple, clean font to create an homage to classic racing posters. Again, the use of red against a deep yellow background is eye grabbing. Love both of them
And for the third set, I was a bit surprised by the pure delight I felt when I first saw them. They have that rare visual impact that insists the viewer take a second, third and fourth look. Normally I tend towards traditional designs for aviation related stamps, I love looking at vintage photos of pioneer aircraft and their pilots, especially from the golden age of flight in the early 1900s. But the City of Air quartet captures a thrill of flight through it’s wavy bright colours that creates a feeling of rushing air.
I tried to find details about the artist Bil Benefit, but have come up empty. And that is a shame because this set is one of the best aviation designs I’ve seen in a long time. Yea, I’m surprised, but its never too late to learn to appreciate new art styles. These four are poster and t-shirt worthy. Can you imagine them mounted on a hallway wall? I’d never get tired looking at them.
As for the Vespa stamp, well just keep scrolling. And I still want a Vespa.
Cheers
Catpaw
March
EUROPA 2024 – Underwater Flora and Fauna
2 stamps, 2 sheets of 12, cancel
offset
- Crested newt (Triturus carnifex) Italian Crested Newt (froglife.org)
- Diving Beetle (Scarodytes ruffoi) – small water beetle that inhabits fresh water streams.
- Macroalga (Chara vulgaris) – fresh water plant sometimes called stonewort. Commonly found in ponds, pools.
Designer: Monika Dattner
Release date: March 19, 2024
Centenary of the International Sports Press Association (AIPS)
1 stamp, sheets of 12, cancel
First meeting of the AIPS took place in Paris on July 1, 1924. The initial 20 members has expanded to over 9,500 worldwide, looking out for media of all types.
if you are interested in following sports coverage you need to look at the AIPS’ magazine. They have it available (including back issues) free on their website. Recent editions have covered the prickly subject of the use of AI in place of skilled reporters.
Release date: March 19, 2024
14th Global Summit of the World’s National Ethics and Bioethics Committees
1 stamp, souvenir sheet of 4, cancel
offset
This year’s summit theme “Crisis, Evolution, Growth: Contributions and Challenges of National Ethics Committees in a world of uncertainty” . It was held in San Marino April 17-19, 2024
… the collaboration of the WHO and the Sammarinese Bioethics Committee, and is aimed at international debate on major issues in bioethics. Never such a small country had ever been given the honor of being able to host this world summit: the Republic of San Marino will be the first to host a conference of this nature on its territory. The Summit will focus on the critical issues that have emerged in the long period of crisis the world has experienced, from the COVID-19 pandemic to the current war in Ukraine, and will named “Crisis, Evolution and Growth”. 14° Global Summit dei Comitati Nazionali di Etica e Bioetica del mondo (dfn.sm)
Release date: March 19, 2024
160th Death Anniversary of Domenico Maria Belzoppi
1 stamp, souvenir sheet of 4 with QR code and Belzoppi’s notary seal, cancel
offset
19th century notary, politician and statesman. Captain regent of San Marino five times -1838, 1842, 1845-46, 1849 and 1853.
The QR code on the souvenir sheet a page and video about Belzoppi.
Designer: Cristian Ceccaroni
San Marino based artist Ceccaroni focuses on painting and chalcographic engraving. You can see more examples of his work here Atelier Cristian Ceccaroni – Engravings. His artwork has graced more than 30 San Marino stamps starting with Rotary Club of San Marino, 40th Anniversary pair in 2000.
Release date: March 19, 2024
60th Death Anniversary of Giorgio Morandi (Bologna 1890 -1964)
6 stamps on a souvenir sheet, cancel
stochastic offset
Paintings on these stamps were part of Morandi’s exploration of the still life style, an artistic form that had fallen out of favour. He was part of the Italian Futurism movement.
An unusual figure, that of a solitary artist who never left the city of his birth and – with rare exceptions – only knew the work of his contemporaries from books, Morandi pursued over the entire course of his existence a highly personal poetics focused on a few, humble subjects and characterized by intellectual speculation, extreme purity of expression and absolute rigor of form. He kept at a distance from the revolutionary clangor of the avant-gardes and yet was drawn in a wholly personal way by the ideas coming out of Futurism, Metaphysical Art, Valori Plastici and the Novecento currents. Around 1918, the reproductions published by the Bolognese magazine La Raccolta drew Morandi’s attention to the Metaphysical research of de Chirico and Carrà. Still Life | Pinacoteca di Brera (pinacotecabrera.org)
This video dives into Morandi’s life and his still life works.
Morandi’s artwork has appeared on two previous stamps, one from Italy Centenary of the birth of Giorgio Morandi (1890-1964) in 1990 and Belgium Italy-Belgium Joint Issue: Natura Morte – Giorgio Morandi in 2003.
Release date: March 19, 2024
Youth and Institutions
3 stamps on a souvenir sheet, cancel
offset
The souvenir sheet is a tribute to the relationship between the younger generation and the institutional life promoted by the Captains Regent of the Republic of San Marino, Filippo Tamagnini and Gaetano Troina, in synergy with the Secretariat of State for Finance and Budget and Poste San Marino Philatelic Numismatic Division. The souvenir sheet leads to Piazza della Libertà, heart of San Marino’s historic center overlooked by Palazzo Pubblico, one of the symbols of San Marino’s state identity. On the square flows the daily life of people, institutions and young people becoming a place of communication, transit, happenings and growth.
I giovani e le Istituzioni (dfn.sm)
For this set of stamps, Galassi opted to use quadrichrome + two metallic Pantone colours for a soft and inviting affect.
Designer: Giulia Galassi
It was a wonderful opportunity to experiment with a miniature poster, as well as being able to create a graphic project for my small state (and having to buy a suit to present them with “great fanfare”).
(27) Activity | Giulia Galassi | LinkedIn
Release date: March 19, 2024
San Marino-Italy joint Issue – Vespa Club Italia
Joint issue with Italy
1 stamp, souvenir sheet of 4, cancel
offset
Let’s celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Vespa Club Italia. One of the iconic images of Italy, and a scooter many of us wanted. My personal favourite was a 1960 model VBB 150 with a sidecar. Vespa Club Italia has all their back issues of their magazine available for download here Historical Magazine – Vespa Club d’Italia (vespaclubditalia.it).They are in Italian, but easy to translate. Good fun!
On April 20, 2024, Posteitaliane issued their Vespa stamp.
Designer: Paola Momentè
Release date: March 19, 2024
June
Inter Champion of Italy 2023-2024
1 stamp, souvenir sheet of 6, cancel
offset
F.C. Internazionale Milano was the winner of the Italian football championship April 2024.
Release date: June 15, 2024
40th Anniversary of Formal Relations Between San Marino and Brazil
1 stamp, souvenir sheet of 4, cancel
offset
Artwork: Relations of Peace
I am really interested in Human Rights, I’ve painted several personalities, leaders who fought for peace, and some even died for fighting for it. But there is still a lot to do against intolerance. The world needs more peacemakers.
Kobra, 2018
Artwork: Edwardo Kobra, a street artist from Brazil
Eduardo Kobra’s early works were only painted in Brazil, and in 2011 Kobra created his first mural outside his country as France invited him to paint a wall about immigration in a neighbourhood of Lyon. The rest of his career took him to paint in different countries around the world like the USA, Mexico, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Sweden, Poland, Netherlands, Russia, Japan and India.
Eduardo Kobra Biography & Artwork | Artists | Street Art Bio
Release date: June 15, 2024
160th Anniversary of the Italian Red Cross
Joint issue San Marino – Italy – Vatican City – S.M.O.M. (Sovereign Military Order of Malta)
1 stamp, souvenir sheet of 4, cancel
offset
The Italian Red Cross was founded June 15, 1864
On June 24, 1859, during the 2nd Italian War of Independence, one of the bloodiest battles of the nineteenth century took place in Solferino, on the hills south of Lake Garda. Three hundred thousand soldiers belonging to three distinct armies (French, Sardinian-Piedmontese and Austrian) clash, leaving on the ground about one hundred thousand dead, wounded and missing. Castiglione delle Stiviere is the nearest village, six kilometers from Solferino, where there was already a hospital and the possibility of accessing water, a fundamental element in the improvised rescue of the nine thousand wounded who, in the first three days, were transported to Castiglione.
There is also a Swiss citizen, Jean Henry Dunant, who has come to meet Napoleon III on his business. He finds himself embroiled in the terrible carnage, aggravated by the “non-existence” of military health. He was so impressed by the situation that he decided to describe what was happening in what would later become his fundamental text: “Un Souvenir de Solferino”, translated into more than 20 languages. From the horrible spectacle was born in Dunant the idea of creating a team of trained volunteer nurses, whose work could make a fundamental contribution to military health: the Red Cross.
History and Principles – Italian Red Cross (cri.it)
Designer: Tiziana Trinca del Centro Filatelico dell’Officina Carte Valori e Produzioni Tradizionali dell’Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato S.p.A.
Release date: June 15, 2024
Celebration of the 30th Anniversary in Honour of the Memory and Legacy of Ayrton Senna (1960 – 1994)
1 stamp, souvenir sheet of 4, cancel
offset
Ayrton Senna took the Formula 1 paddock by storm in a career that delivered three world titles and a host of records, only for his life to be tragically cut short by a fatal accident at Imola 30 years ago today. If you’re new to F1 and want to learn more about the Brazilian’s journey, we have charted his whirlwind path from karting sensation to F1 superstar, while highlighting some of his best-ever performances, one of his fiercest rivalries and a legacy that shines brightly to this day…
Who was Ayrton Senna and why is he regarded as one of F1’s greatest drivers? | Formula 1®
Senna: what he really meant to Brazil | Ayrton Senna – A Tribute to Life (ayrton-senna.net)
Senna has been featured on numerous stamps, including Brazil’s 1994 Tribute to Ayrton Sena and San Marino’s 20th Death Anniversary of Ayrton Senna (1960-1994) issued in 2014.
Release date: June 15, 2024
8th Edition of the Beijing-Paris Motor Race
1 stamp, souvenir sheet, cancel
offset
The Peking to Paris rally took place May in May 2024. All participants drive vintage cars over 14,250 km, crossing 7 borders. Its the ultimate endurance race for motor cars with a history that dates back to the 1907. This year the rally stopped for the first time in San Marino (June 20).
Paris, boulevard Poissonnière. Tenth arrondissement, headquarters of the newspaper Le Matin. On the morning of 31 January 1907, the newspaper published a short announcement: « The thing we have to prove today is that since man has the car, he can do anything and go anywhere. Is there anyone who is willing to go from Beijing to Paris by car next summer? ». This is an incredible challenge.
Beijing to Paris has been one of the most exciting and historic automobile races in the world, the first edition of this epic race dates back to 1907, and its history is studded with extraordinary feats, breath-taking landscapes and unexpected challenges.For the last eight editions, the new Beijing-Paris has been held, which combines adventure, endurance and pioneering spirit and is an essential part of the tourist sector. Almost 100 teams will be at the start, passing through San Marino on day 34 of the race. For the passage in San Marino of Beijing to Paris as well as for the contest, the Philatelic and Numismatic Division of the San Marino Post Office has dedicated a souvenir sheet that features an illustration of all the stops of the 8th edition of the race by the designer Ilaria Tomat. The 2.45-euro value of the sheet depicts a vintage car which is completed by “San Marino”, the Coat of Arms of the Republic, a white line with the route of the race, the caption Beijing to Paris, the name of the designer and the year 2024. The logo of the San Marino stage of the 8th edition of Beijing to Paris motor race and the site www.dfn.sm are pictured in the background of the sheet. A souvenir sheet by the San Marino Postal Service to honour historic Beijing-Paris – Divisione Filatelica Numismatica San Marino (dfn.sm)
Peking To Paris: The Crazy True Story Of The 1907 Motor Race (grunge.com)
Designer: Ilaria Tomat
Release date: June 15, 2024
City of Air
4 stamps, souvenir sheet of 8, cancel
offset
- Aeroclub San Marino aeroplane in flight with the the First Tower in the background
- hydroplane in flight over Lake Trasimeno with Municipalities of Castiglione del Lago, Magione and Passignano sul Trasimeno coat of arms
- aeroplane in flight over the Italian peninsula with logo of Piloti di Classe
- Associazione Città dell’aria (Association of the City of Air) is an interesting initiative to “promote aeronautical sector by history, culture, sport or economy”.
- Aero Club d’Italia airplanes flying over an Italian landscape
At the moment, there are 34 municipalities that have joined the City of Air and about twenty associations, but in the short term an exponential growth in adhesions is expected.
The aeronautical sector can develop an important economic spin-off: in fact, the initiative aims to facilitate the economic recovery of the sector, as well as to promote sustainable tourism that can appreciate the beauty of those small villages that have so much to offer in terms of culture, art and food and wine.
The Città dell’Aria Association is born, 12 Umbrian municipalities are part of it | AboutUmbria (aboutumbriamagazine.it)
Designer: Bil Benefit
Release date: June 15, 2024
The 60th Birthday of Mafalda
3 stamps on souvenir sheet, cancel
offset
You can read more about Mafaldo here Argentine cartoonist Quino is born – Bitter Grounds Magazine
Artist: Joaquín Salvador Lavado, aka Quino
Release date: June 15, 2024
80th Anniversary of the Battle of Monte Pulito
2 stamps, souvenir sheet, cancel
offset
Commissioned by Castle Council of Faetano to honour Gurkha Sher Bahadur Thapa VC (1921-1944).
Citation:
“In Italy on the night of 18th/19th September, 1944, a Battalion of the 9th Gurkha Rifles was fighting its way forward into the State of San Marino against bitter opposition from German prepared positions dominating the river valley and held in considerable strength in depth.
Rifleman Sher Bahadur Thapa was a number one Bren gunner in a rifle Company, which just before dawn came under heavy enemy observed small arms and mortar fire.
He and his section commander charged an enemy post, killing the machine gunner and putting the rest of the post to flight. Almost immediately another party of Germans attacked the two men and the section commander was badly wounded by a grenade, but, without hesitation, this Rifleman, in spite of intense fire, rushed at the attackers and reaching the crest of the ridge brought his Bren gun into action against the main body of the enemy who were counterattacking our troops.
Disregarding suggestions that he should withdraw to the cover of a slit trench, Rifleman Sher Bahadur Thapa lay in the open under a hail of bullets, firing his Bren gun which he knew he could only bring to bear on the German emplacements from his exposed position on the crest of the hill as they would not have been visible from the slit trench.
By the intensity and accuracy of the fire which he could bring to bear only from the crest, this isolated Gurkha Bren gunner silenced several enemy machine guns and checked a number of Germans who were trying to infiltrate on to the ridge.
At the end of two hours both forward Companies had exhausted their ammunition and, as they Were by then practically surrounded, they were ordered to withdraw. Rifleman Sher Bahadur Thapa covered their withdrawal as they crossed the open ground to positions in the rear and himself remained alone at his post until his ammunition ran out. He then dashed forward under accurate small arms and mortar fire and rescued two wounded men, who were lying between him and the advancing Germans. While returning the second time he paid the price of his heroism and fell riddled by machine gun bullets fired at point black range.
The great bravery of this Gurkha soldier was instrumental in saving the lives of many of his companions and his outstanding devotion to duty contributed largely to the severe reverse which the enemy eventually suffered when our troops counter-attacked. His name will live in the history of his Regiment as a very gallant soldier.”
Sher, Bahadur Thapa – TracesOfWar.com
Designer: Libero Corti
Release date: June 15, 2024
S.M.O.M. – 160th anniversary of the Italian Red Cross
Joint issue with Italy, Sovereign Military Order of Malta and Vatican City
1 stamp, souvenir sheet, cancel
offset
Designer: Tiziana Trinca
Release date: June 15, 2024
October
40th Anniversary of the Laboratorio Chimico
ongoing series dedicated to businesses in San Marino
4 stamps on souvenir sheet, cancel
offset
The QR code leads to this page Eccellenze sammarinesi: 40° anniversario di LCS – Divisione Filatelica Numismatica San Marino. It has an interesting video showing the artwork in progress.
To celebrate 40 years of activity, LCS has promoted an innovative art project focusing on environmental sustainability and social commitment, two cornerstones of its corporate mission. During a workshop held in June 2024, artist Mario Arlati and students of the Atelier Servizio Disabilità of San Marino gave pieces of cloth a new lease of life, creating an extraordinary work of art, the result of regenerative experimentation, which will be donated to the Republic. On the sheet, four stamps reproduce snapshots of various stages of the workshop: a close-up of the coloured fabrics of the artwork, the selection of the pieces of fabric, the painting stage, and a particular detail of the artwork. On the left side of the sheet is an image of the entire piece of art and a QR code, which can be scanned to view a backstage video about the project.
40° anniversario di Laboratorio Chimico-farmaceutico Sammarinese (LCS)
Designer: Emanuele Lumini
Release date: October 9, 2024
150th Anniversary of the Universal Postal Union
1 stamp, mini sheet, cancel
offset
Designer: Elisa Quadri
Release date: October 9, 2024
Architecture in San Marino
new series
3 stamps on souvenir sheet, cancel
offset
This new series is dedicated to “archistars”, internationally known architects who have played a role in developing iconic buildings in San Marino.
First building showcased: Sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin of Consolation by Italian architect Giovanni Michelucci.
Photographer: Simone Maria Fiorani
Design created with the support of Archive of the Società Unione Mutuo Soccorso (SUMS) and the Order of Engineers and Architects of the Republic of San Marino
Release date: October 25, 2024
Christmas 2024
1 stamp, sheets of 12, cancel
offset
Painting: Madonna dell’Umiltà, c. 1415. The stamp uses a section from the painting.
Artist: Masolino da Panicale
Release date: October 25, 2024
50th Anniversary of San Marino’s Membership of UNESCO
1 stamp, mini sheets of 4, cancel
offset
San Marino became a member of UNESCO in 1974.
The sketch, by the designer Armando Milani, represents a paper clip that holds the heart to itself, suggesting to keep alive the feeling of humanity. The African word ubuntu, much loved by Nobel Peace Prize winner Nelson Mandela as a strong expression of the concepts of belonging, humanity and solidarity, means “I am because we are”.
50° anniversario dell’adesione di San Marino all’UNESCO
Designer: Armando Milani
Release date: October 25, 2024
80th Anniversary of the Colorificio Sammarinese
Artist: Basik (Lucio Bolognesi)
Basik is a mural artist located in Italy. He began his career as a graffiti writer and soon expanded to larger canvases.
About – Basik
Release date: October 25, 2024
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