Frances & Pro-Colonial
One of my favorite saints is St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint animals and nature. He and St. Catherine of Siena were also patron saints of Italy. St. Francis founded the Order of Friars Minor, the Order of Saint Clare (i.e., the Poor Clares), and the Third Order of Saint Francis.
The top set of stamps on this album page are in commemoration of the six-hundred year anniversary of the death of St. Francis. They depict him, the Basillica of St. Francis and San Damiano Church and Convent, both in Assisi, Italy.
Italian Colonial Institute
The Istituto Coloniale Italiano (Italian Colonial Institute) was an organization that worked on informing the Italian public about the colonies. It was meant to provide news and to encourage Italians to migrate to them. It was founded in 1908 in Rome by a group of politicians, diplomats, professors, and explorers of the time who had an interest in Africa and the expansion of Italy.
In the late 1920s, the Institute became part of the Fascists agenda to build an Italian empire. They changed their name first to the Fascist Colonial Institute, and in the late 1930s to the Fascist Institute of Italian Africa. After the second world war and the loss of the colonies, the Institute changed its agenda to focus on the rights of Italians living and working in the former colonies. It went through a couple more name changes and more reorganization over the decades that followed, but it continues today as the Italian-African Institute.
St. Angelo Castle
Castel Sant’Angelo, Saint Angelo Castle is located in Rome, near the main entrance of the Vatican, along the Tiber river. It was built during the reign of Emperor Hadrian in the 130s c.e. to be a mausoleeum for him when he died. You can see the castle in the first stamp of the second set of stamps.
Ponte Sant’Angelo is the bridge located in front of the entrance to he castle. It crosses the Tiber river. There are ten statues of angels that were named in the Bible. It’s a beautiful bridge. This bridge and the castle are featured in my novel, The Pages of St. John
Note
This page is full. It includes a set four stamps for historical places or monuments in Italy. This set is reprinted a few times, but in different colors. You can find them on later pages in this album and in my other Italian colony albums.
Contains 15 spots: own 15 – 15 unused, 0 used.
Page is finished.
Album or Web Page Last changed Jul 10, 2025
Stamp Details
The table below lists information about the stamps shown on this page of Lighthouse’s stamp album. For more details about a particular stamp, click on its description. That will take you to the related web page of Colnect.
spot |
own |
catalog |
subject |
description |
comment |
St. Francis of Assisi
✓ |
28 |
20c (apr 1926) |
|||
✓ |
29 |
40c (apr 1926) |
|||
✓ |
32 |
5+2.50₤ (apr 1926) |
|||
✓ |
30 |
60c (apr 1926) |
|||
✓ |
31 |
1.25₤ (apr 1926) |
Pro Italian Colonial Institute
✓ |
33 |
5+5c (jun 1926) |
|||
✓ |
34 |
10+5c (jun 1926) |
|||
✓ |
35 |
20+5c (jun 1926) |
|||
✓ |
36 |
40+5c (jun 1926) |
|||
✓ |
37 |
60+5c (jun 1926) |
|||
✓ |
38 |
1+0.05₤ (jun 1926) |
Milizia Social Security Fund (M.V.S.N.)
✓ |
39 |
Castel Sant’Angelo |
40+20c (apr 1927) |
||
✓ |
40 |
60+30c (apr 1927) |
|||
✓ |
41 |
1.25+0.60₤ (apr 1927) |
|||
✓ |
42 |
5+2.50₤ (apr 1927) |
Footnotes
Spot refers to the postion of the stamp on the album page (e.g., 3.2 indicates row 3, position 2).
Amt. is an abbreviation for the face amount of the stamp.
Own indicates the stamp status: ✓ for unused; ✗ for used or canceled; ⭑ signifies I ordered one; ; ✨ indicates it was bought recently; ✠ means an auction bid is pending; and ◎ is used, and it costs too much for unused.
To search by catalog number, go to the search box and enter it in the catalog number box. However, it’s a bit broken; I need to fix it.
