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- 450 lire Montecassino single
450 lire Montecassino single
Object Details
- Description
- On March 21, 1980, the Vatican issued five stamps in commemoration of the five hundredth anniversary of the birth of Saint Benedict, patron saint of Europe.
- Saint Benedict was born in Norcia, Italy, in 480. He pursued his higher education at Rome and later joined a monastery at Subiaco, forty miles from Rome. The foundation of the Benedictine monks formed there. Between 525 and 529, Pope Felix IV gave his blessings to the order and the order established a monastery at Monte Cassino. At Monte Cassino, St. Benedict wrote his Rule, which formed the basis for all Western monastic living. During the Middle Ages, the Benedictine monks were instrumental in preserving the West's storehouse of knowledge of the arts, agriculture, culture, artisanship, law, morality, and literature. St. Benedict died at Monte Cassino in 547. In 1964, Pope Paul VI proclaimed Benedict patron saint of Europe.
- "S. BENEDETTO PATRONO D'EUROPA" with the value below appears at the center of each stamp. "POSTE VATICANE" appears in the lower left corner. A different illuminated letter appears on each value on the left side. A different image related to St. Benedict appears on the right of each stamp. The 80-lire value depicts the Abbot Desiderius inviting St. Benedict to preside over the monastic community. The 100-lire value depicts St. Benedict writing his Rule of monastic living. The 150-lire value depicts a page of the Rule. The 220-lire value shows St. Benedict's death. The 450-lire value shows an illustration of Monte Cassino from a painting by Paul Bril. All the other designs were taken from the Codices of the Vatican Apostolic Library. The total series was 1,150,000 sets.
- Reference:
- Trent, Joseph. "St. Benedict Stamps." Vatican Notes 28, no. 6 (May-June 1980): 3-5.
- Data Source
- National Postal Museum
- Date
- March 21, 1980
- Object number
- 1983.0147.19528
- Type
- Postage Stamps
- Medium
- paper; ink (multicolored);
- Place
- VATICAN CITY (independent city state)
- See more items in
- National Postal Museum Collection
- Title
- Scott Catalogue Vatican City 672
- Topic
- International Stamps & Mail
- Record ID
- npm_1983.0147.19528
- Usage
- Usage conditions apply
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