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- 15 lire St. Antoninus single
15 lire St. Antoninus single
Object Details
- Description
- Vatican City issued a set of four stamps on February 29, 1960, to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the death of St. Antoninus, Archbishop of Florence (1389-1459). The set consists of two vertical designs, one a bust of St. Antoninus and the second a bas-relief of St. Antoninus preaching.
- The bust of St. Antoninus printed the ultramarine 15-lire stamp is based upon the work of sculptor Giovanni Dupré (1819-1882) in the collection of the Uffizi Gallery, Florence. MCDLIX and MCMLIX (1459-1959) appear at the top of the stamp. SANCTUS ANTONINUS (St. Antoninus) is inscribed on the pallium worn over the saint’s Dominican habit. Poste Vaticane and the postal value appear at the bottom of the stamp’s design.
- St. Antoninus, the son of a Florentine notary, entered the Dominican Order in 1405. He founded the famous convent of San Marco in Florence (1405). Fra Angelico decorated each cell of the convent with frescoes, as he did other areas of the convent.
- St. Antoninus was active at the Council of Florence (1439), which attempted to heal the breach between Latin and Greek Christianity. He wrote works of moral theology and Christian social ethics. He was appointed Archbishop of Florence from 1446 to 1459. Antoninus embraced strict personal poverty, owning only a mule, and conducted works of charity in the face of calamities such as earthquakes and plagues. He was canonized in 1523.
- The stamp was designed by A. Grassellini and engraved by M. Canfarini. It contains the Crossed Keys of St. Peter watermark, is perforated 13 x 14, and measures 3 cm x 4 cm. A total of 625,700 sets were printed by the recess process at the Italian State Printing Works in Rome. The set was withdrawn on December 31, 1960.
- References:
- Catalogo Enciclopedico Italiano, 2007/2008,”Citta del Vaticano,” ASCAT: Rome, 2006.
- Michel Europa Katalog, Band 3, Sudeuropa, “Vatikanstaat,” Unterschleissheim, Germany: Schwanberger Verlag GMBH, 2008.
- Stanley Gibbons Stamp Catalogue, Part 8, Italy and Switzerland, 7th Edition. Stanley Gibbons Ltd: Ringwood, Hampshire, England, 2010.
- “St. Antoninus,” in David Hugh Farmer, Oxford Dictionary of Saints, 5th edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005.
- “Giovanni Dupré,” in The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1914 edition, located at http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/16036a.htm, accessed March 17, 2011.
- Data Source
- National Postal Museum
- Date
- February 29, 1960
- Object number
- 2008.2009.271
- 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 269
- Topic
- International Stamps & Mail
- Record ID
- npm_2008.2009.271
- Usage
- Usage conditions apply
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