In this new edition of “The World of Stamps” we present a selection of highly interesting philatelic issues from Italy, Vatican City, Croatia, and Poste Magistrali.
The Italian Issues
We begin with the Italian issues.
On 5 March 2026, the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy issued a definitive stamp belonging to the thematic series Excellences of Italian Cultural Heritage, dedicated to Corriere della Sera on the 150th anniversary of its foundation.
This newspaper is part of Italy’s history and has established itself from the very beginning as one of the most prestigious information media in Europe and worldwide. Today it remains a cornerstone of international journalism and a bastion of free information in a historical moment marked by major transformations in communication. The vignette depicts a typographic matrix, composed of movable type or clichés, transferring ink onto paper to produce a proof used to check content and print quality. In the background appears the front page of the first issue of Corriere della Sera, founded in Milan in 1876 by Eugenio Torelli Viollier. At the center stands the logo celebrating the 150th anniversary. Completing the stamp are the inscription “ITALIA” and the tariff indication “B”.
Now let’s talk about science.
On 11 March 2026, the Ministry issued another definitive stamp in the same thematic series, dedicated to Enrico Fermi – Centenary of Fermions.
The vignette shows a close-up portrait of the Nobel Prize–winning physicist Enrico Fermi, accompanied on the left by symbols and formulas recalling the Fermi–Dirac statistics he formulated. This theory, essential for describing the behavior of fermions and their distribution among energy states, played a decisive role in the development of modern physics and in understanding the quantum behavior of matter—foundational to many innovative technologies. The stamp is completed by the inscriptions “CENTENARIO DEI FERMIONI”, “ENRICO FERMI”, “ITALIA”, and the tariff indication “B”.
The third Italian issue presented here was released on 14 March 2026: a definitive stamp in the thematic series Excellences of Italian Cultural Heritage, dedicated to the extraordinary National Central Library of Rome on the 150th anniversary of its inauguration. The vignette features, in the foreground, the logo celebrating the Library’s 150th anniversary. At the bottom right is a stylized graphic representation of the Library’s modern building, located within the archaeological area of Castro Pretorio. In the background stands out a detail from a 1455 nautical chart preserved at the Library, created by the Genoese cartographer Bartolomeo Pareto. Completing the stamp are the inscription “ITALIA” and the tariff indication “B”. The design was created by Matias Hermo.
The Croatian Issues
We now move to Croatia, always active with beautiful and meaningful issues.
For Easter 2026, Croatian Post issued a stamp dedicated to the Confraternities, which throughout the Christian Mediterranean have a fundamental history and significance. In Korčula, on the Adriatic Sea, they are still active after centuries and organize a beautiful and meaningful Good Friday procession.
The author of this article lives in Savona, a Ligurian provincial capital where ancient confraternities have carried on one of the Mediterranean’s oldest Good Friday processions since the Middle Ages, featuring extraordinary wooden sculptures—masterpieces by Maragliano and other great artists. For this reason, we particularly appreciate this issue of 16 March 2026, designed by Zagreb-based designer Dean Roksandić. Let us now explore in details the story behind this stamp.
Motif: Easter procession in Korčula on Good Friday The stamp was issued in a 20-stamp sheet, and Croatian Post also released a First Day Cover (FDC). “Kornjača i drugi predjeli” (The Turtle and Other Landscapes) is the title of a poetry book by Danijel Dragojević, and the turtle, in a precise visual metaphor, represents the town of Korčula. Rounded on its island–peninsula and crossed by a grid of streets resembling a turtle, it protects with the shell of its rooftops not only tangible but also intangible heritage: tradition, faith, customs. Thus, its ancient Easter rites of Vela Setemana (Holy Week) rank among the most impressive events in the Mediterranean calendar of Adriatic towns. Among all the days of the Week, Good Friday stands out, when confraternities, in a nighttime procession, carrying torci and veli vosak—large hand-painted wax candles—move through the town singing the Passion, carrying the light of repentance and hope.
Confraternities are associations of citizens established to promote devotion, strengthen social solidarity, advance economic life, preserve heritage, and enrich the town with new works of art. Democratic in composition yet strictly structured by statutes, the office of confraternity head is so honorable that it ranks third in the community hierarchy, after the bishop and the duke. Their origins date back to late antiquity and the early Middle Ages, often linked to major catastrophes requiring collective responses. They were suppressed by the Reformation, revived by the Counter-Reformation, abolished by the Enlightenment, and renewed by Romanticism. They survive today, with various emphases, and Pope Francis has called on them to return to the original Gospel values adapted to the contemporary world.
Confraternities played a crucial role in developing and preserving the vernacular language. Early domestic literature emerged within them, and the first forms of theater grew out of their festivities. The oldest Croatian church songbook belonged to the Korčula Confraternity of All Saints and is still used during Vela Setemana. In Korčula, three ancient confraternities survive: All Saints (1301), St. Roch (1575), and the Blessed Virgin Mary of Consolation (1603). They continue to fulfill their centuries-old duties, safeguarding civic virtues and reminding us of the values of community and equality.
This year’s Croatian Easter stamp depicts a procession of confraternity brothers in traditional attire (tonige), carrying torci, wax candles weighing up to 85 kg and reaching 2.5 meters in height. The procession moves beneath stone vaults, under the turtle’s shell, just as it has for 725 years. This ancient heritage, recognized as intangible cultural heritage by the Ministry of Culture, is now presented to the world by Croatian Post.
Let's go to Rome!
And now let’s go to Rome! In this issue of our blog, we also highlight the Vatican City Easter stamp (26 February 2026). As tradition dictates in the prestigious philatelic program of Vatican City State, one issue is dedicated to Easter, the center and summit of the liturgical year and of the faith. The €1.35 stamp reproduces the Resurrection of Christ by Domenico Cresti, known as Passignano, preserved in the Vatican Pinacoteca. The composition, built on a strong contrast of light and shadow, depicts Christ triumphing over sin and death.
Finally, we mention the miniature sheet issued by the Magistral Post of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, once again of the highest artistic quality.
On 3 February 2026, the Magistral Post celebrated the 900th anniversary of the return of the relics of Saint Agatha, Patron Saint of Catania, from Constantinople. The Agathine Jubilee was commemorated philatelically with the reproduction of the Martyrdom of Saint Agatha (1605), painted by Filippo Paladini for the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Agatha in Catania.
A warm greeting to all stamp collectors and enthusiasts.
See you in the next edition of our philatelic blog, as we continue our journey around the world through history, culture, nature, and all the beauty worth celebrating.
Roby Giannotti Journalist
Member of AIJP (Association Internationale des Journalistes Philatéliques) and USFI (Unione Stampa Filatelica Italiana)
For press releases and photographic material: info@robygiannotti.com
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