The Alfa Romeo 6C 1500 Gran Sport shoots out from the starting line. On board are Augusto Carnato and Guglielmo Carraroli of the Ferrari scuderia (the Ferrari car stables), those romantic heroes on four wheels. They are frozen in time, in the photo dating back to 1931, as they enter the Futa Pass.
That icon image on the stamp depicts the race. It gives us the feeling of the drivers as they fight for first place across the thin line that divides history from legend.
On Friday, April 17, in the auditorium of the Brescia Chamber of Commerce, at 12:00 noon, a press conference will be held to present the 60 cent Italian postage stamp which honors the “Mille Miglia”. Its first day of issue will be May 14, 2009.
“Speaking as an enthusiastic stamp collector and a fan of classic cars, over and beyond my being a Minister in the Italian Government, it gives me special pleasure to make the official presentation of this stamp. It honors the Mille Miglia as an image of that which is Italian in the world, a symbol of Italian excellence which is recognized abroad. A symbol then, of our style, of refinement and taste.” so speaks Claudio Scajola the Minister of Economic Development.
“Postage stamps are cult objects, which are collected, carefully conserved, and passed on from generation to generation. It is this ongoing capability, which add value to stamps.
Today, the Italian Post Office renders homage to the Mille Miglia, considered by its fans to be ‘the race’ in terms of excellence”, stated the Postmaster General of the Italian Post Office, Giovanni Ialongo. “It is not just an event showing the courage, sacrifice and talent of the participants, which has entered, rightly so, into the history and culture of Italian and international sport. It is also the event to show off the brilliance of the unrivaled ‘Made in Italy’ trademark.”
The rough draft was sketched by Silvia Isola.
In the foreground is the Alfa Romeo 6C 1500 Gran Sport during the Mille Miglia of 1931, while the background shows some spectators. On the right stands the official logo, the legendary Freccia Rossa (the Red Arrow), with written across the bottom BRESCIA>ROMA>BRESCIA, the route of the race.
To complete the picture, is the face value of the stamp, “€ 0,60”, and of course, “ITALIA”, the issuing country.
Also on sale will be an illustrative bulletin, whose article has been written by Enrico Gelpi, the President of the Automobile Club of Italy. The Stamp Collector’s Window in the Post Office of Brescia Centro will cancel the stamps on its day of issue with a special cancellation mark designed by the Philatelic Office of the Poste Italiane.
The stamp has been printed by the Italian Government Mint, the Carte Valori dell’Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato S.p.A., in rotogravure, on fluorescent paper without watermarks. The technical details are as follows: paper size 40 x 30 mm, print size, mm 36 x 26; serration: 13 x 13¼; colors: 4; quantity: 3,500,000 stamps issued; sheets: 50, sheet face value € 30.00.
The stamp and other philatelic products will be on sale at post offices throughout Italy, at the Stamp Collectors’ Window, at the stores “Spazio Filatelia” in Rome, Milan, Venice, Naples and on the website www.poste.it.
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