Italy On This Day: 2026

NEW - Italy’s first postage stamps

Kingdom of Sardinia adopts pre-paid labels for letters

The first postage stamps to be used in Italy were issued by the Kingdom of Sardinia on this day in 1850. It followed proposals drawn up by the statesman Count Camillo Cavour, whose various positions in the Sardinian government at the time included Minister of Commerce, to reform the postal service. Following the example of other European states, Cavour suggested that these pre-paid labels, which became known as francobolli as the Italian language acquired a new word, would make for a fairer system for delivering mail. Before stamps were invented, the cost of posting a letter was demanded of the recipient rather than the sender. The cost depended on distance and the number of sheets. But the charges were inconsistent and confusing and people often refused to pay, leaving letters undelivered, or postal workers were held up as they negotiated payment at the door. It discouraged ordinary people from sending mail. Read more…

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Claudio Villa - singing star

'King' of Sanremo sold 45 million records

The singer Claudio Villa, who sold 45 million records and won the Sanremo Music Festival four times, was born on New Year's Day in 1926 in the Trastevere district of Rome. The tenor, nicknamed 'the little king' on account of his diminutive stature and fiery temper, lent his voice to popular songs rather than opera although his voice was of sufficient quality to include operatic arias in his repertoire. His four wins at Sanremo, in 1955, 1957, 1962 and 1967, is the most by any individual performer, a record he shares with Domenico Modugno, the singer-songwriter who was at his peak in the same era. Villa recorded more than 3,000 songs and enjoyed a successful film career, starring in more than 25 musicals. His biggest hits included Ti Voglio Come Sei, Binario, Non ti Scordar di Me, Buongiorno Tristezza and Granada. Read more…

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Cesare Paciotti - shoe designer

Exclusive brand worn by many celebrities

The shoe designer Cesare Paciotti, whose chic collections have attracted a celebrity clientele, was born on New Year’s Day in 1958 in Civitanova Marche, a town on the Adriatic coast. His company, Paciotti SpA, is still headquartered in Civitanova Marche, as it has been since his parents, Giuseppe and Cecilia, founded their craft shoe-making business in 1948, producing a range of shoes in classical designs made entirely by hand. Today, the company, which trades as Cesare Paciotti, has major showrooms in Milan, Rome and New York and many boutique stores in cities across the world. The business, which also sells watches, belts, other accessories and some clothing lines, has an annual turnover estimated at more than $500 million (€437 million). Cesare Paciotti inherited the family firm in 1980 at the age of 22. Read more…

Guglielmo Libri – book thief

Nobleman stole more than 30,000 books and documents

The notorious 19th century thief Guglielmo Libri, who stole tens of thousands of historic books, manuscripts and letters, many of which have never been found, was born on this day in 1803 in Florence. A distinguished and decorated academic, Libri was an avid collector of historic documents whose passion for adding to his collections ultimately became an addiction he could not satisfy by legal means alone. He stole on a large scale from the historic Laurentian Library in Florence but it was after he was appointed Chief Inspector of French Libraries in 1841 – he had been a French citizen since 1833 – that his nefarious activities reached their peak. As the man responsible for cataloguing valuable books and precious manuscripts across the whole of France, Libri had privileged access to the official archives of many cities. Read more…

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Valentina Cortese – actress

Vibrant performer made more than 100 films

Film star Valentina Cortese was born on this day in 1923 in Milan. She had an acting career lasting nearly sixty years and won an Academy Award nomination for her performance as an ageing, alcoholic movie star in Francois Truffaut’s Day for Night in 1973. Cortese was born to a single mother, who sent her to live with her maternal grandparents in Turin when she was six years old. She enrolled in the National Academy of Dramatic Arts in Rome at the age of 15 and made her screen debut in 1940. This paved the way for her first internationally acclaimed film in 1948, an Italian adaptation of Les Miserables with Gino Cervi and Marcello Mastroianni, in which she played the roles of both Fantine and Cosette. She then appeared in the British film The Glass Mountain in 1949 and also appeared in many American films of the period, while continuing to work in Europe with directors such as Michelangelo Antonioni, Federico Fellini and Francois Truffaut. Read more…

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Capodanno in Italy

Toasting the New Year the Italian way

New Year’s Day is called Capodanno in Italy, which literally means ‘head of the year’. It is a public holiday, and schools, Government offices, post offices and banks are closed. After a late start following the New Year’s Eve festivities, many families will enjoy another traditional feast together, either at home or in a restaurant. Visitors and residents will attend church services throughout the country before sitting down to a festive meal and toasting the new year with a glass of good Prosecco. Rai Uno often broadcasts a New Year’s Day concert live. The Catholic Church remembers cardinal-priest Giuseppe Maria Tomasi di Lampedusa who died on this day in 1713. He was the son of the Prince of Lampedusa in Sicily but he renounced his inheritance and joined a religious order. Later in life he worked to reform the church and was created a cardinal-priest by Pope Clement XI who admired his sanctity. Read more…

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Book of the Day: The World Encyclopedia of Stamps and Stamp Collecting, by James Mackay

The World Encyclopedia of Stamps and Stamp Collecting is a newly updated guide to getting the most out of the world’s most popular hobby, with countless examples of rare, vivid and historical stamps spanning two centuries, plus advice on price and guidance about acquisition. Read some of the fascinating stories behind the world’s most sought-after stamps, from the famous commemoratives of American presidents to issues from some of the most remote post offices in the world. Stamps trace the character and history of the country from which they originate, and this encyclopedic visual directory is an engrossing account of some of the most bizarre, vivid and poignant examples ever created.

Dr James MacKay was one of the foremost authors on stamps and stamp collecting, writing over 100 books and thousands of articles. He owned one of the largest private stamp collections in the world.

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Kingdom of Sardinia adopts pre-paid labels for letters

Italy's equivalent of the 'Penny Black' -
the 1850 Cinque Centesimi stamp

The first postage stamps to be used in Italy were issued by the Kingdom of Sardinia on this day in 1850.

It followed proposals drawn up by the statesman Count Camillo Cavour, whose various positions in the Sardinian government at the time included Minister of Commerce, to reform the postal service.

Following the example of other European states, Cavour suggested that these pre-paid labels, which became known as francobolli as the Italian language acquired a new word, would make for a fairer system for delivering mail.

Before stamps were invented, the cost of posting a letter was demanded of the recipient rather than the sender. The cost depended on distance and the number of sheets.

But the charges were inconsistent and confusing and people often refused to pay, leaving letters undelivered, or delivery workers were delayed in their rounds s they negotiated payment at the door. It discouraged ordinary people from sending mail.

The idea of the postage stamp came from Sir Rowland Hill, a British reformer, in 1837. He proposed that the sender pay a simple, low, uniform rate. The postage stamp would be issued as proof of payment.

As a result, the Penny Black - the first postage stamp in history - came into being in 1840.

Following Sardinia, other Italian states followed suit, with stamps issued in Tuscany from April 1851, the Papal States (January 1852), Modena (June 1852), Parma (June 1852), the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (Naples - January 1858; Sicily - January 1859), and Romagna (September 1859).

The first Sardinian stamps, which carried an embossed profile picture of King Victor Emmanuel II, had values from five centesimi to 40 centesimi. Like the British Penny Black, the five centesimi Sardinian stamp was also black.

The Kingdom of Sardinia, ruled by the Savoy family, at the time included what are today the Piemonte, Ligure and Valle d’Aosta regions, as well as the island of Sardinia. The Savoys were based in Turin and the early stamps were printed on the Turin presses of printer Francesco Matraire.

The Marzocco - the Lion of
Florence - on a Tuscan stamp

The stamps of the Duchy of Tuscany, featured the Lion of Florence - the Marzocco - while the Papal States displayed the Papal coat of arms.

Sardinia, who had the idea for pre-paid postage some years before stamps when they printed pre-paid letter sheets, continued to print stamps after the unification of Italy in 1860, when stamps issued by other states and territories in the peninsula were withdrawn.

Italy joined the Universal Postal Union in 1875. Stamps at first displayed the profile of the monarch but a change came in April 1910 when a series of commemorative stamps was issued to mark the 50th anniversary of Giuseppe Garibaldi’s Expedition of the Thousand.

Italy broke new ground again in 1917 by issuing the first airmail stamp. Poste italiane overprinted their existing special delivery stamps to mark an experimental airmail flight between Turin and Rome.

The magnificent Basilica of Superga stands on
a hill overlooking the Savoy capital, Turin

Travel tip:

By 1850, Turin had become the nerve centre of the Kingdom of Sardinia, the state ruled by the House of Savoy that would soon lead the unification of Italy. Although the kingdom’s name referenced the island of Sardinia, the real power base was always Piemonte, and Turin was its capital and administrative engine. The House of Savoy had ruled the region since the Middle Ages, gradually expanding from their Alpine homeland. Turin was the dynastic capital, filled with palaces, military academies, and administrative buildings that expressed Savoy authority. The city housed the royal court, the ministries, and the bureaucracy that contemporary observers described as unusually efficient and ambitious compared to other Italian states. Architecturally, the city still reflected the Baroque redesign initiated when it became the Savoy capital in the 1500s: straight avenues, monumental squares, and grand palaces intended to project dynastic prestige. Some say its architecture and layout made it feel more French than Italian. Two of the most striking reminders of the Baroque age are the Palazzo Reale, the Royal Palace of Turin, which was once the Savoys’ principal royal residence and is now a major museum, and the majestic Basilica of Superga, which Filippo Juvara built on a hill overlooking the city.

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A copy of Donatello's Marzocco
in Florence's Piazza della Signoria

Travel tip:

The Marzocco, which appeared on the first stamps issued by the Duchy of Tuscany, is the heraldic lion of Florence, the city’s secular symbol and one of its oldest civic emblems. It is said to represent strength, justice, independence, and republican liberty. The city adopted the lion as its totemic animal for a number of reasons, one legend being that the lion was chosen because it could “tear apart the eagle” - the symbol of the Holy Roman Empire. The origin of the name is uncertain, possibly deriving from Mars, the ancient pagan protector of Florence, or from St Mark, whose symbol is also a lion. The best‑known version of the Marzocco in art is Donatello’s Marzocco, sculpted between 1418 and 1420 in fine Tuscan sandstone. The sculpture, which shows a seated lion with one paw resting on the Florentine lily shield, originally stood in Piazza della Signoria from 1812 until it was moved to the Bargello Museum in 1885 and replaced by a replica. The lion’s symbolic power was so strong that Florentine soldiers were sometimes called marzoccheschi – “sons of the Marzocco”.