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Ancient Postal Routes was the theme for the 2020 Vatican Europa stamp. The €1.10 stamp depicts an intersection of the Colonia lula (Turin) of its main roads, the Cardo Massimo (north-south direction) and the Deumano Massimo east-west direction) which extended outside the city to its four cardinal points. Most cities had a Cardio Massimo which served as the main street, lined with shops, serving as the center of economic life. The Decumano Massimo served as the secondary street of ancient Roman cities. The €1.15 value is an illustration of the Colonia Axemais (Terracina) which includes a section of the Appian Way. Terracina is a commune in Latina 67 miles southeast of Rome. The Appian Way was one of the main roads from Rome, extending from the Roman Forum to Brindisi on the southeast coast of the Adriatic Sea. The ancient maps are located in a 6th-century corpus (collection), included in a 9th-century Vatican Library manuscript (Pal. Lat. 1564). The UFN brochure for this issue states these maps served as a model for an 11th-century Tabula Peutingeriana, an 11th-century road map, with its intersection printed in red. Both are illustrations of the ancient Roman postal system. The stamps were issued in sheets of ten. Technical Details: Scott Catalogue - 1742 - 1743 Date Issued - 23 June 2020 Face Value - €1,10, €1,15 Perforations - 40x30mm Printing Process - Offset Printer - Cartor (France) Max Printed - 45,000 |
| (Source: Vatican Notes, Volume 68, Number 385, pp. 4-6, 2020) |
