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In 2022, we were able to spend several days in Rome, visiting the sites of Vatican City. One of the primary things on my to-do list was to go to the Vatican Central Post, get some pictures of the building, and mail a few postcards. I wanted to get a Central Post Office postmark and compare it with postmarks of other postcards mailed at other Vatican City postal boxes. I was very, very disappointed when Swiss Guards prevented me from walking anywhere close to the Central Post Office building. (See details of this confrontation detailed in the articles referenced below.) On a happier note, one of the other things on our to-do list was to visit one of our American priest friends who works in Rome. We had a wonderful visit with our friend! When I told him of my disappointment in not being able to get a Central Post Office postmark, he said that he could probably get to the Central Post building (getting past the Swiss Guards) and mail me a postcard. True to his promise, a postcard from Vatican City arrived at my mailbox, complete with a Central Post Office postmark. I am absolutely thrilled with this addition to my Vatican stamp collection! 
The Central Post Office postmark is printed using black ink, and has a 28 mm diameter outer circle. The inner circle is 20 mm in diameter, resulting in a 4mm distance between the inner and outer circles. Most important is the C printed in the upper part of the inner circle, indicating that the postmark comes from the Central Post office. The date of 10.11.22 (formatted dd.mm.yy, with the numbers separated with periods) shows that the mailing date was November 10, 2022. Delivery time between mailing and arrival was a little less than two weeks. Within the spacing of the two circles is the traditional wording CITTA' DEL VATICANO on top and POSTE on the bottom. This postmark is purely traditional in format. The only surprise is very traditional in format, not deviating like some of the other formats that the Vatican Post Office has been using in recent times.   This is one of the postmarks from the postcards I mailed from several postal boxes during my visit to Vatican City. There are obvious style differences when comparing it with the more traditional style of the Central Post Office postmark. References • Marvin Lanahan, Locating Vatican Post Office Boxes Vatican Philatelic Society Daily Emails October 2022 • Marvin Lanahan, My Attempt To Photograph The Central Post Office Building Vatican Philatelic Society Daily Emails October 2022 |
