| Stamps Of Vatican City |
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The Stamps of Vatican City, however beautiful and few in number, are not merely "pretty pictures" designed to raise revenue as are the issues of some other European micronations. According the Universal Postal Union, the Vatican post office is "one of the best postal systems in the world" and "more letters are sent each year, per inhabitant, from the Vatican's 00120 postal code than from anywhere else in the world." In the heart of the Italian peninsula, nestled within the city of Rome , lies the world's smallest nation. Vatican City , one-eighth the size of New York City’s Central Park , became independent from Italy under the Lateran Pacts of February 11, 1929. Two days later, the Vatican post office began operating with supplies and equipment donated by the Italian government; the first stamps were issued on 1 August 1929. Since that time, the Vatican has acquired a reputation for producing handsome and attractive issues in limited quantities (even today, the average production run for most issues is only between 300,000 and 500,000 stamps). Much, but by no means all, of the mail handled by the Vatican is from tourists or official congregations of the Roman Curia . Many Romans, distrustful of the unreliable Italian post office, make weekly trips to the Vatican just to post their important letters. Italian stamps may not be used on Vatican mail nor vice versa. EXTERNAL LINKS |
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