Postcard from Italy.

 

The Great Spa Towns of Europe, Italy.

This transnational serial property comprises eleven spa towns, located in seven European countries: one of them being in  Montecatini Terme (Italy). All of these towns developed around natural mineral water springs. They bear witness to the international European spa culture that developed from the early 18th century to the 1930s, leading to the emergence of grand international resorts that impacted urban typology around ensembles of spa buildings such as baths, kurhaus and kursaal (buildings and rooms dedicated to therapy), pump rooms, drinking halls, colonnades and galleries designed to harness the natural mineral water resources and to allow their practical use for bathing and drinking. Related facilities include gardens, assembly rooms, casinos, theatres, hotels and villas, as well as spa-specific support infrastructure. Thank you Cristina for the beautiful site card and stamps on the envelope.

Ref: Unesco.Org

                                                             Date of Inscription-2021

Dossier: 1613

Ref: Unesco.Org

2018 Stamp- Republic square in Rome

2019 Stamp- The 85th Anniversary of Donald Duck

Padua’s fourteenth-century fresco cycles, Italy.

This property is composed of eight religious and secular building complexes, within the historic walled city of  Padua, which house a selection of fresco cycles painted between 1302 and 1397 by different artists for different types of patron and within buildings of diverse functions. Nevertheless, the frescos maintain a unity of style and content. They include Giotto’s Scrovegni Chapel fresco cycle, considered to have marked the beginning of a revolutionary development in the history of mural painting and many others. 

Thank you Cristina for the nice site card and stamp.

Date of Inscription: 2021

Ref: 1623

Source: Unesco.Org.

2018 Stamp-The 150th Anniversary of the Ca' Foscari University of Venice.

18th-Century Royal Palace at Caserta with the Park, the Aqueduct of Vanvitelli, and the San Leucio Complex, Italy.

The monumental complex at Caserta, created by the Bourbon king Charles III in the mid-18th century to rival Versailles and the Royal Palace in Madrid, is exceptional for the way in which it brings together a magnificent palace with its park and gardens, as well as natural woodland, hunting lodges and a silk factory. It is an eloquent expression of the Enlightenment in material form, integrated into, rather than imposed on, its natural setting.

Thank you Felice for the beautiful card sent from Switzerland.

Italy

Provinces of Caserta and Benevento, Campania

Date of Inscription: 1997

Ref: 549rev

Source:Unesco.Org.

2018 Stamp- Greetings Stamps

2019 Stamp- Christmas

Church and Dominican Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie with “The Last Supper” by Leonardo da Vinci,Italy.

The refectory of the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie forms an integral part of this architectural complex, begun in Milan in 1463 and reworked at the end of the 15th century by Bramante. On the north wall is The Last Supper, the unrivalled masterpiece painted between 1495 and 1497 by Leonardo da Vinci, whose work was to herald a new era in the history of art.

 Italy

Province of Milano, Lombardy

Date of Inscription: 1980

Ref: 93 Source(Unesco.Org)

Thank you Chiara for the nice site card with beautiful stamps.

2019 Stamp- The 100th Anniversary of The National Alpini Association

2015 Stamp- Posta Italiana - Self Adhesive Stamps

The Sassi and the Park of the Rupestrian Churches of Matera, Italy.

This is the most outstanding, intact example of a troglodyte settlement in the Mediterranean region, perfectly adapted to its terrain and ecosystem. The first inhabited zone dates from the Palaeolithic, while later settlements illustrate a number of significant stages in human history. Matera is in the southern region of Basilicata.

 Italy

City and Province of Matera, Region of Basilicata

Date of Inscription: 1993

Ref: 670 (Unesco Whs)

Thank you Cristina for the beautiful site card and stamps (MATERA UNESCO STAMP).

2015 Posta Italiana - Self Adhesive Stamps

2019 Stamp- The 100th Anniversary of the Confederation of Italian Cooperatives

2019 Stamp- Matera - European Capital of Culture

# 680 Syracuse and the Rocky Necropolis of Pantalica.Italy.

The site consists of two separate elements, containing outstanding vestiges dating back to Greek and Roman times: The Necropolis of Pantalica contains over 5,000 tombs cut into the rock near open stone quarries, most of them dating from the 13th to 7th centuries BC. Vestiges of the Byzantine era also remain in the area, notably the foundations of the Anaktoron (Prince’s Palace). The other part of the property, Ancient Syracuse, includes the nucleus of the city’s foundation as Ortygia by Greeks from Corinth in the 8th century BC. The site of the city, which Cicero described as ‘the greatest Greek city and the most beautiful of all’, retains vestiges such as the Temple of Athena (5th century BC, later transformed to serve as a cathedral), a Greek theatre, a Roman amphitheatre, a fort and more. Many remains bear witness to the troubled history of Sicily, from the Byzantines to the Bourbons, interspersed with the Arabo-Muslims, the Normans, Frederick II of the Hohenstaufen dynasty (1197–1250), the Aragons and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Historic Syracuse offers a unique testimony to the development of Mediterranean civilization over three millennia.

Thank you Cristina for the site card gifted by you with nice stamp.

Italy
City and Province of Syracuse, Sicily
Date of Inscription: 2005
Ref: 1200  

Source-(Unesco.Org

2018 Stamp- The 150th Anniversary of the Ca' Foscari University of Venice.

Archaeological Areas of Pompei, Herculaneum and Torre Annunziata,Italy.

When Vesuvius erupted on 24 August AD 79, it engulfed the two flourishing Roman towns of Pompei and Herculaneum, as well as the many wealthy villas in the area. These have been progressively excavated and made accessible to the public since the mid-18th century. The vast expanse of the commercial town of Pompei contrasts with the smaller but better-preserved remains of the holiday resort of Herculaneum, while the superb wall paintings of the Villa Oplontis at Torre Annunziata give a vivid impression of the opulent lifestyle enjoyed by the wealthier citizens of the Early Roman Empire.
Date of Inscription: 1997
Ref: 829 (Unesco.Org)
Thank you Cristina for the nice card and stamp.
2016 Stamp-Piazza del Duomo, Milano

Val d’Orcia ,Italy.

So glad to receive another scenic site card from Gian

Stamp-2014 National Nuclear Physics Laboratories (2 from set of 4 stamps)

The  landscape of Val d’Orcia is part of the agricultural hinterland of Siena, redrawn and developed when it was integrated in the territory of the city-state in the 14th and 15th centuries to reflect an idealized model of good governance and to create an aesthetically pleasing picture. The landscape’s distinctive aesthetics, flat chalk plains out of which rise almost conical hills with fortified settlements on top, inspired many artists. Their images have come to exemplify the beauty of well-managed Renaissance agricultural landscapes. The inscription covers: an agrarian and pastoral landscape reflecting innovative land-management systems; towns and villages; farmhouses; and the Roman Via Francigena and its associated abbeys, inns, shrines, bridges, etc

Date of Inscription: 2004

Ref: 1026rev   ( unesco.org )

Thank you Alessandro for the scenic site card.

2018 EUROPA Stamps - Bridges

Villa d'Este, Tivoli,Italy.

The Villa d'Este in Tivoli, with its palace and garden, is one of the most remarkable and comprehensive illustrations of Renaissance culture at its most refined. Its innovative design along with the architectural components in the garden (fountains, ornamental basins, etc.) make this a unique example of an Italian 16th-century garden. The Villa d'Este, one of the first giardini delle meraviglie , was an early model for the development of European gardens.
Date of Inscription: 2001
Ref: 1025  ( unesco.org) 
Thank you Alessandro for your wonderful,generous. gesture.
2018 Stamp- EUROPA Stamps - Bridges

Villa Adriana (Tivoli),Italy.

The Villa Adriana (at Tivoli, near Rome) is an exceptional complex of classical buildings created in the 2nd century A.D. by the Roman emperor Hadrian. It combines the best elements of the architectural heritage of Egypt, Greece and Rome in the form of an 'ideal city'
Date of Inscription: 1999
Ref: 907 ( unesco.org)
Thank you Alessandro for your wonderful,generous. gesture.
2018 Stamp- EUROPA Stamps - Bridges

Early Christian Monuments of Ravenna,Italy.

Ravenna was the seat of the Roman Empire in the 5th century and then of Byzantine Italy until the 8th century. It has a unique collection of early Christian mosaics and monuments. All eight buildings – the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, the Neonian Baptistery, the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, the Arian Baptistery, the Archiepiscopal Chapel, the Mausoleum of Theodoric, the Church of San Vitale and the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe – were constructed in the 5th and 6th centuries. They show great artistic skill, including a wonderful blend of Graeco-Roman tradition, Christian iconography and oriental and Western styles.
Date of Inscription: 1996
Ref: 788   ( unesco.org )
Thank you Alessandro for your wonderful,generous. gesture.
2018 Stamp- EUROPA Stamps - Bridges

Historic Centre of San Gimignano,Italy.

'San Gimignano delle belle Torri' is in Tuscany, 56 km south of Florence. It served as an important relay point for pilgrims travelling to or from Rome on the Via Francigena. The patrician families who controlled the town built around 72 tower-houses (some as high as 50 m) as symbols of their wealth and power. Although only 14 have survived, San Gimignano has retained its feudal atmosphere and appearance. The town also has several masterpieces of 14th- and 15th-century Italian art.
Date of Inscription: 1990
Ref: 550  ( unesco.org )
Thank you Alessandro for your wonderful,generous. gesture.
2018 Stamp- EUROPA Stamps - Bridges

City of Verona,Italy.

The historic city of Verona was founded in the 1st century B.C. It particularly flourished under the rule of the Scaliger family in the 13th and 14th centuries and as part of the Republic of Venice from the 15th to 18th centuries. Verona has preserved a remarkable number of monuments from antiquity, the medieval and Renaissance periods, and represents an outstanding example of a military stronghold.

Many thanks Cristina for the nice card and beautiful stamps.

Date of Inscription: 2000

Ref: 797rev ( unesco.org )

2006 Stamp-The 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Enrico Mattei

2018 Stamp- EUROPA Stamps - Bridges

2018 Stamp- The 150th Anniversary of the Corazzieri Regiment

Medici Villas and Gardens in Tuscany,Italy.

Twelve villas and two gardens spread across the Tuscan landscape make up this site which bears testimony to the influence the Medici family exerted over modern European culture through its patronage of the arts. Built between the 15th and 17th centuries, they represent an innovative system of construction in harmony with nature and dedicated to leisure, the arts and knowledge. The villas embody an innovative form and function, a new type of princely residence that differed from both the farms owned by rich Florentines of the period and from the military might of baronial castles..

Beautiful cards and stamps as always.Thank you Cristina.

Date of Inscription: 2013

Ref: 175( unesco.org )

2006 Stamp-The 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Enrico Mattei

2018 Stamp-The 90th Anniversary of the Italy Arctic Polar Expedition

2018 Stamp- Theatres - The 200th Anniversary of the Teatro Marrucino, Chieti

Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps,Italy.

This serial property of 111 small individual sites encompasses the remains of prehistoric pile-dwelling (or stilt house) settlements in and around the Alps built from around 5000 to 500 B.C. on the edges of lakes, rivers or wetlands. Excavations, only conducted in some of the sites, have yielded evidence that provides insight into life in prehistoric times during the Neolithic and Bronze Age in Alpine Europe and the way communities interacted with their environment. Fifty-six of the sites are located in Switzerland. The settlements are a unique group of exceptionally well-preserved and culturally rich archaeological sites, which constitute one of the most important sources for the study of early agrarian societies in the region.

Date of Inscription: 2011

Ref: 1363 ( unesco.org )

Received with thanks this beautiful card from Kerstin.

2016 Stamp-Piazza del Plebiscito, Napoli

Venetian Works of Defence between the 16th and 17th Centuries: Stato da Terra – Western Stato da Mar,Italy.

This site consists of six components located in Italy, Croatia and Montenegro and spanning more than 1000 km between the Lombard region of Italy and the eastern Adriatic Coast. Together, they represent the defensive works of the Serenissima between the 16th and 17th centuries, the most significant period of the longer history of the Venetian Republic; and demonstrate the designs, adaptations and operations of alla moderna defences, which were to feature throughout Europe.

Fortified city of Peschiera del Garda,Italy

Peschiera del Garda  is a town and comune in the province of Verona, in Veneto, Italy. When Lombardy-Venetia was under Austrian rule, Peschiera was the northwest anchor of the four fortified towns constituting the Quadrilatero. The fortress is on an island in the river Mincio at its outlet from Lake Garda.

Date of Inscription: 2017

Ref: 1533 ( unesco.org )

Thank you Kerstin for the beautiful card and nice stamps.

2016 Stamp-Piazza del Plebiscito, Napoli

The Dolomites,Italy.

The site of the Dolomites comprises a mountain range in the northern Italian Alps, numbering 18 peaks which rise to above 3,000 metres. It features some of the most beautiful mountain landscapes anywhere, with vertical walls, sheer cliffs and a high density of narrow, deep and long valleys. A serial property of nine areas that present a diversity of spectacular landscapes of international significance for geomorphology marked by steeples, pinnacles and rock walls, the site also contains glacial landforms and karst systems. It is characterized by dynamic processes with frequent landslides, floods and avalanches. The property also features one of the best examples of the preservation of Mesozoic carbonate platform systems, with fossil records.

Selva di Val Gardena , Italian Selva di Val Gardena is an Italian community with 2613 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2016) in Val Gardena  in South Tyrol . Together with St. Ulrich and St. Christina , it is one of the three municipalities of the valley where Ladin is the official language alongside German and Italian .

Date of Inscription: 2009

Ref: 1237rev

Thank you very much my good friend Edith for the scenic site card and helping me with so many wonderful stamps for my Thematic stamp collection.

Thank ypu Natalie for tjhe beautiful card affixing nice stamp.

 

Archaeological Area of Agrigento,Italy.

Founded as a Greek colony in the 6th century B.C., Agrigento became one of the leading cities in the Mediterranean world. Its supremacy and pride are demonstrated by the remains of the magnificent Doric temples that dominate the ancient town, much of which still lies intact under today's fields and orchards. Selected excavated areas throw light on the later Hellenistic and Roman town and the burial practices of its early Christian inhabitants.
Thank you Cristina for sending another card affixing nice stamps for the one sent earlier presumably lost in transit.
Be blessed for the nice and rare gesture.
Date of Inscription: 1997
Ref: 831
2006 Stamp-The 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Enrico Mattei
2017 Stamp-The 500th Anniversary of the Death of Francesco Tasso, 1459-151
2017 Stamp- The 150th Anniversary of the Italian Geographical Society

Historic Centre of Florence,Italy.

Built on the site of an Etruscan settlement, Florence, the symbol of the Renaissance, rose to economic and cultural pre-eminence under the Medici in the 15th and 16th centuries. Its 600 years of extraordinary artistic activity can be seen above all in the 13th-century cathedral (Santa Maria del Fiore), the Church of Santa Croce, the Uffizi and the Pitti Palace, the work of great masters such as Giotto, Brunelleschi, Botticelli and Michelangelo.
Cristina in Italy sent this nice card with Special Fiat car stamp.Thank you Cristina.
Date of Inscription: 1982
Minor boundary modification inscribed year: 2015
Ref: 174bis
2017 Stamp- The 60th Anniversary of the Fiat 500
Postmail International QR code label.