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 Europa 1999: Parks and Natural Reservations Scott 1104a (1999) On March 23, 1999, Vatican City issued its annual Europa series stamps. The two stamps and seal, shown above, depict the Rose John Paul II, which was presented to the pope by the people of Canada during his visit to the country in 1984, and floating water lilies. The central seal shows a reproduction of a mosaic from the Casina Pio VI in the Vatican, depicting a heron with some floral and geometric designs. Each year, the Europa stamps, issued by countries within the PostEurop association, are dedicated to a specific theme. In 1999, this presented a problem for Vatican City since the theme was the setting aside of special areas for natural preservation. As the world’s smallest state, Vatican City does not have the vast areas of untouched nature that are present in the other countries of Europe. To address the theme in 1999, the Vatican City stamps celebrated the main green space within the boundaries of the Vatican, namely the Vatican Gardens, as well as the extraterritorial space at the Papal Villas in Castelgandolfo. The first Europa postage stamps were issued in 1956. This is an annual set of stamps jointly issued with a common design or theme by postal administrations of member countries of what is now the PostEurop Association. Vatican City issued its first Europa stamp set in 1969, but it was not until 1993 that the release of Europa stamps became an annual event for the city-state. The Europa stamps are intended to be tangible symbols of the cooperation between the postal administrations within the organization. They hope to build awareness of the common roots of the countries, as well as their culture and history. The desire is to foster a sense of closer integration and cooperation between the countries. The Europa stamp reference below provides a detailed history of the stamps, as well as lists of the themes for stamps that have been issued over the last 60-plus years. REFERENCES: Wikipedia, Europa Postage Stamp UFN, March 23, 1999, Europa 99: Parks and Natural Reservations Vatican Philatelic Society Website, www.vaticanstamps.org, Stamp Database Search |
