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We continue our review of the stamps of the Europa stamp series and the Vatican City stamps issued in conjunction with this program. As we historically hit the new millenium, today we will cover the Europa stamps from 1998 through 2002. 
 Europa 1998: National Feasts and Festivals Vatican City, Scott 1063-1064 The theme for the 1998 Europa issue was “National Feasts and Festivals”. As written in the UFN release for this year’s stamps, the set fittingly “draw(s) attention to the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul—June 29—a great festivity in Rome and in Vatican City.” The patron saints of Rome, the 800L stamp shows Saint Peter, and the 900L stamp depicts Saint Paul, images taken from Stefaneschi Triptych currently housed in the Vatican Museums. 
 Europa 1999: Nature Reserves and Parks Vatican City, Scott 1103-1104 The theme for the 1999 Europa series, “Nature Reserves and Parks”, presents a bit of a dilemma to Vatican City, given its tiny geographic area. The problem was resolved by depicting flowers found at two Vatican properties. The 800L stamp shows the “John Paul II Rose”, found in the Vatican Gardens, and the 900L stamp portrays water lilies at the Papal Villa at Castelgandolfo.  Europa 2000: Tower of Six Stars Vatican City, Scott 1152 For the turn of the century, PostEurop reverted to having a common design for the Europa stamp for the first time since 1973. The single stamp for 2000 shows a tower of six stars, with four children playing around the tower. The stars of the tower represent the six countries which formed the European Community of Coal and Steel, viewed by many as an early precursor to the European Union. These six countries also jointly issued the first Europa stamps in 1956. The Europa logo on this year’s stamps was altered to include the year, thus reading “Europa 2000”. 
 Europa 2001: Water—The Treasure of Nature Vatican City, Scott 1180-1181 The 2001 Europa stamps focused on the precious commodity of water. Themed “Water: The Treasure of Nature”, the Vatican City stamps show the hands of God releasing water to the Earth on the first stamp, and man receiving it on the second. The 2001 stamps show the unique feature for the year, when Vatican City stamps were denominated in both euros and lira, as Europe proceeded with the conversion to a common currency. 
 Europa 2002: The Circus Vatican City, Scott 1219-1220 For 2002, the theme for the Europa stamps was “The Circus”. The two Vatican City stamps show the painting “Christ and the circus”, by Aldo Carpi. The 0.41-euro stamp shows the painting in its entirety, and the 0.62-euro stamp shows a detailed section. REFERENCES: UFN, March 24, 1998, Europa 1998, National Festivals and Festivities UFN, March 23, 1999, Europa 1999, Parks and Natural Reservations UFN, May 9, 2000, Europa 2000 UFN, May 22, 2001, Europa 2001, Water—Natural Resource UFN, June 13, 2002, Europa 2002, The Circus Vatican Philatelic Society Website, www.vaticanstamps.org, Stamp Database Search |
