THE 'MIXED FRANKINGS' OF THE PAPAL STATES DURING ITALIAN RISORGIMENTO
Mixed frankings are one of the most charming philately realms of pre-unification Italian States. Unlike most countries that have an older political structure, Italy achieved territorial unification when stamps had already been sent all around the world for twenty years. Unlike Great Britain, where the “Penny Black” was issued in 1840, Italy’s late national unification (1861) led to the use of stamps from different countries, more than in any other State in Europe and in the rest of the world.
The first stamps of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia were issued in 1850. The other States of the peninsula issued theirs in the following years, but the strict administrative division - modern Italy used to be divided among Habsburg, Bourbon, Este, Savoy and the Church – was not matched by a similarly clear separation in the relations among territories. Even before they became aware they belonged to the same nation, Italians had common commercial traditions and needed to do business and communicate with one another, supported by their cultural affinity and despite political borders. Piedmont and Lombardy, Marches and Romagna, and the Modena and Parma Duchies were extremely similar, but governed by different dynasties.
Understanding this is essential to realize how many borders a letter had to cross to complete a relatively short journey and how many postal administration rules - sometimes regulated through specific agreements - they had to deal with. Sometimes stamps from different countries were applied to the same document to cover different parts of their journey or to pay insufficient postage upon arrival, or to send a letter to recipients who had changed their address. Last May 28th and 29th, the Bolaffi auction presented some examples of this sought-after type of postal documents.
The first was an extremely rare mixed franking with stamps of the Papal State’s first issue and an Austrian first issue, of which only two letters are known. The letter sold in Turin for € 102,000, starting from € 60,000, was the auction’s top price for the Italian area. It was a letter from Trieste, which used to be part of the Habsburg Empire at that time, to Foligno and was addressed to the Count Francesco Gentili Spinola. Its two Austrian stamps (6 and 9 kreuzer) were not cancelled in the Adriatic city, but only when the letter reached Ancona on July 5th. Before unification, Italy’s road network was quite underdeveloped and most mail travelled by sea. The Marches capital city belonged to the Papal State, just as the letter’s town of destination, and the original postage was considered to be valid only after the sea journey. For this reason, another 4-bajocchi stamp was applied to pay for the domestic journey to Foligno. As a sign of unity, it was cancelled in Ancona on 5th July with the same circular stamp. This document, one of the best-known of the ancient Italian States, bears the signatures of important philatelic experts, Alberto Bolaffi, Alberto Diena, Renato Mondolfo and Giorgio Colla.
Another interesting and uncommon example of mixed postage of the Papal State presented during the same auction was an envelope dated October 7th 1870 from Rome to Amelia; it is franked with a third issue 40 c. and a 20 c. stamp of the Kingdom of Italy showing the portrait of Victor Emmanuel II. It left the Eternal City at one of the crucial moments of Italian history: this envelope is an example of how philatelic documents can bear witness to historical events. On September 20th 1870 the King of Sardinia’s troops entered Rome through Porta Pia and ended the century-long Papal rule over the territories of central Italy. After the Piedmontese soldiers arrived, new stamps showing the portrait of the king were issued. The old stamps with the tiara and the crossed keys, the traditional symbols of the Pope, were still accepted until the end of that year. A new period began, when mail was franked with either the old or the new stamps and sometimes with both issues at the same time. The October 7th envelope belongs to this limited, but fascinating and sought-after group of documents and was sold for € 42,000.
By Matteo Armandi & Alberto Ponti
The first stamps of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia were issued in 1850. The other States of the peninsula issued theirs in the following years, but the strict administrative division - modern Italy used to be divided among Habsburg, Bourbon, Este, Savoy and the Church – was not matched by a similarly clear separation in the relations among territories. Even before they became aware they belonged to the same nation, Italians had common commercial traditions and needed to do business and communicate with one another, supported by their cultural affinity and despite political borders. Piedmont and Lombardy, Marches and Romagna, and the Modena and Parma Duchies were extremely similar, but governed by different dynasties.
Understanding this is essential to realize how many borders a letter had to cross to complete a relatively short journey and how many postal administration rules - sometimes regulated through specific agreements - they had to deal with. Sometimes stamps from different countries were applied to the same document to cover different parts of their journey or to pay insufficient postage upon arrival, or to send a letter to recipients who had changed their address. Last May 28th and 29th, the Bolaffi auction presented some examples of this sought-after type of postal documents.
The first was an extremely rare mixed franking with stamps of the Papal State’s first issue and an Austrian first issue, of which only two letters are known. The letter sold in Turin for € 102,000, starting from € 60,000, was the auction’s top price for the Italian area. It was a letter from Trieste, which used to be part of the Habsburg Empire at that time, to Foligno and was addressed to the Count Francesco Gentili Spinola. Its two Austrian stamps (6 and 9 kreuzer) were not cancelled in the Adriatic city, but only when the letter reached Ancona on July 5th. Before unification, Italy’s road network was quite underdeveloped and most mail travelled by sea. The Marches capital city belonged to the Papal State, just as the letter’s town of destination, and the original postage was considered to be valid only after the sea journey. For this reason, another 4-bajocchi stamp was applied to pay for the domestic journey to Foligno. As a sign of unity, it was cancelled in Ancona on 5th July with the same circular stamp. This document, one of the best-known of the ancient Italian States, bears the signatures of important philatelic experts, Alberto Bolaffi, Alberto Diena, Renato Mondolfo and Giorgio Colla.
Another interesting and uncommon example of mixed postage of the Papal State presented during the same auction was an envelope dated October 7th 1870 from Rome to Amelia; it is franked with a third issue 40 c. and a 20 c. stamp of the Kingdom of Italy showing the portrait of Victor Emmanuel II. It left the Eternal City at one of the crucial moments of Italian history: this envelope is an example of how philatelic documents can bear witness to historical events. On September 20th 1870 the King of Sardinia’s troops entered Rome through Porta Pia and ended the century-long Papal rule over the territories of central Italy. After the Piedmontese soldiers arrived, new stamps showing the portrait of the king were issued. The old stamps with the tiara and the crossed keys, the traditional symbols of the Pope, were still accepted until the end of that year. A new period began, when mail was franked with either the old or the new stamps and sometimes with both issues at the same time. The October 7th envelope belongs to this limited, but fascinating and sought-after group of documents and was sold for € 42,000.
By Matteo Armandi & Alberto Ponti