This page contains the structure description of www.gm-storiapostale.it.
All links in this site map refer to pages in Italian.
For any further information about the different areas, please consult FAQ page.
Info menu
This part is dedicated to general information, it is fully translated in English, and contains:
– this page,
– the FAQ page,
– the bibliography and the webography,
– a note about copyright.
Postal objects
This part of the site hosts pages dedicated to the main postal objects in use in Italy between 1945 and 2001. All mentioned sub-pages are in Italian and are dedicated to:
– the basic fare letter, within Italy or for foreign destinations, with its equivalent postal stationery, the lettersheet;
– the courier, the object which replaced in 1999 the letter: ordinary and priority, with a page dedicated to precursors launched in 1997,
– postcards, within Italy or foreign destinations,
– printed matters, within Italy or foreign destinations,
– open envelopes, divided into three different categories with three different rates (manuscripts, visiting cards or invitations for ceremonies or printed matters for wishes, commercial invoices),
– acknowledgements of receipt (listed both according to the rate or to the used form),
– Justice Administration Documents, a special registered document travelling with an acknowledgement of receipt which has to be registered as well,
– some special rates for publishing houses: book orders and summary of invoices for journals,
– some special rates allowing to send small goods through Post Service (and not Parcel Service): samples with no value, pharmaceutical samples, small parcels, vinyl recordings,
– objects sent by private carrier through authorized delivery,
– a page is also dedicated to senders or receivers which had the right to use discounted fares.
The above list focuses on the so-called “Servizio Corrispondenze”, which is the Mail Service, and does not include the “Servizio Pacchi”, the Parcel Service. The above mentioned small parcel, in fact, was an object with limited dimensions and weight that could be treated by the “Servizio Corrispondenze”.
For each object there is a list of all postage rate variations between 1945 and 2001, with the most common additional services such as registration or express delivery and, if allowed, the reduced fares. For each listed rate, if provided with an hyperlink, there is a specific sub-page showing examples of different postal objects franked with that rate during the specific period. Express delivery and registration fees are mentioned for most of the objects, whereas other services (cash on delivery, poste-restante, air mail, etc) are listed and linked only if my collection contains objects to show.
This part of the site is dedicated to the different stamps issued in Italy between 1945 and 2001.
Listing covers the definitive series:
– Democratic (Democratica),
– Italy at Work (Italia al Lavoro),
– Coin of Syracuse (Siracusana, aka Italia Turrita),
– Saint George (San Giorgio),
– Michelangelo’s paintings (Michelangiolesca),
– High values (Alti Valori),
– Italian Castles (Castelli d’Italia),
– Women in Art (Donne nell’Arte),
– Priority Mail (Posta Prioritaria);
then the commemorative stamps, divided in periods of 10 years each:
– 1940’s,
– 1950’s,
– 1960’s,
– 1970’s,
– 1980’s,
– 1990’s plus 2000 and 2001;
the stamps dedicated to specific services:
– express delivery stamps, with an in-depth explanation of the rules for using them,
– air mail stamps,
– postage due stamps,
– pneumatic mail stamps,
– authorized delivery;
and eventually some pages dedicated to postal stationeries:
– lettersheets,
– postcards,
– air mail lettersheets.
For each of the above listed stamps, if provided with an hyperlink, there is a specific sub-page showing examples of different postal objects of my collection franked with the specific stamp.
This part of the site is presenting again some objects of my collection, which are already categorized according to type of object and rate (in the Postal objects part) and according to the stamps they are franked with (in the Franking part). These objects appear for a third time in this part of the site, according to their importance for some aspects of postal history or for postmark collection.
The section dedicated to postmarks and cancellations contains:
– postmarks with slogan plates,
– the so-called fraction handstamps,
– dumb cancellations;
objects on which the Mail Administration applied some specific annotations:
– justifying stamp “DOPO LA PARTENZA” (after departure) or “OLTRE L’ORARIO LIMITE” (beyond time limit), for objects which reached the post office too late,
– justifying stamps or other notes for undelivered objects,
– justifying stamps or other notes for object encountering delivery problems,
– justifying stamps for object undergoing controls or inspections,
– justifying stamps for object undergoing censorship control;
a selection of cancellation linked to post operators dealing with transport systems:
– travelling post offices,
– mail administration messengers,
– train station mail exchange operators,
– dispatch escorts,
– tramway postboxes (“avviamento celere” cancellations);
a selection of objects with postmarks of temporary post offices:
– temporary post offices, fixed or itinerant,
– mobile post offices (an experiment in the late 80’s and early 90’s in some Italian provinces);
a selection of objects with postmarks applied in offices which were not available to the general public:
– internal post offices of hotels,
– post offices inside firms and other private institutions,
– post offices inside public institutions,
– post offices inside fairs and exhibitions;
and eventually objects with:
– commemorative marks applied by special post offices during celebrations or ceremonies,
– special marks applied by post offices of the Italian Army engaged in foreign missions,
– traces of the “quartiere postale”, a non-performing system similar to postal codes put in place during the Kingdom of Italy and in scarce use until the Fifties.
Other pages are dedicated to objects which were subject to taxation:
– non-franked objects,
– objects with insufficient franking due to their weight,
– objects with insufficient franking because old rates were used,
– objects with insufficient franking due to wrong application of discounted rates,
– object franked with non valid stamps,
– objects with insufficient franking,
– objects with payment on delivery.
Other pages in this section present:
– periods of use, a page dedicated to objects and franking combinations which were possible only during a short period of time between date of issue and tariff modification; also first days of use are presented here (not FDC),
– twin values, objects franked with stamps belonging to different definitive series and with same value,
– financial penalties for Mail employees,
– other stories.