Republic Air Mail

On October 1, 1945, Italy issued airmail stamps as part of the Democratica series, on the same day as the first ordinary stamps. The country was still a monarchy, with Umberto II acting as lieutenant for his father, and the Republic was still eight months away. The airmail part of the series started with seven values, and more were added in 1946 and 1947. According to dealer listings, the airmail set eventually reached nine stamps.

The design that stands out shows two hands clasped over an airplane. The plane is an artist’s idea of the Caproni Campini, a jet-powered aircraft that first flew in 1940. Italy didn’t have jets in service before the war ended, so it was more of a dream than a working aircraft. The other airmail designs were different, with Poste Italiane describing a winged foot and swallows flying toward a coast.

Basically, the message seems to be that Italy wanted to reconnect with the world after the war, and a handshake over a modern airplane says that clearly enough. It also fits the name of the series, since the Democratica was meant to leave the old regime’s symbols behind. As you can see, these airmail stamps come from the same period as the ordinary set, when the Kingdom was ending and the Republic had not yet begun.

Note

Recently, I ordered all of the stamps I’m missing from this page – they weren’t too expensive. Because the stamps dealers have been closed for the Christmas holidays, it will be a little while before I get them.

Contains 12 spots: own 12 – 12 unused, 0 used.
Page is finished.
Album or Web Page Last changed Jan 9, 2023

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

Democracy - Air Mail

1.1	✓	A126	Handshake & Airplane Caproni-Campini 1 Aircraft	1₤ (oct 1945) air mail, slate
1.2	✓	A127	Flight of Swallows	2₤ (oct 1945) air mail, sky blue & dark blue
1.3	✓	A128	Handshake & Airplane Caproni-Campini 1 Aircraft	3.20₤ (oct 1945) air mail, red orange
2.1	✓	A129	Flight of Swallows	5₤ (oct 1945) air mail, dark green
2.2	✓	A130	Handshake & Airplane Caproni-Campini 1 Aircraft	10₤ (oct 1945) air mail, dark carmine red
2.3	✓	A131	Flight of Swallows	25₤ (jul 1946) air mail, blue
3.1	✓	A133	Flight of Swallows	25₤ (apr 1947) air mail, brown
3.2	✓	A132	Handshake & Airplane Caproni-Campini 1 Aircraft	50₤ (jul 1946) air mail, dark green
3.3	✓	A134	Handshake & Airplane Caproni-Campini 1 Aircraft	50₤ (apr 1947) air mail, violet
4.1	✓	A135	Handshake & Airplane Overprint 6 Lira	6₤ (jul 1947) air mail, orange
5.1	✓	A154	Handshake & Airplane Caproni-Campini 1 Aircraft	50₤ (sep 1957) air mail, violet
5.2	✓	A155	Flight of Swallows	5₤ (may 1962) air mail, dark green

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.

remaining stamps & stories in sub-album

page	note	need

Main Page	✓
Republic Express	✓
Air Mail Radio	✓
Pneumatic	✓
Parcel Post	✓	1
Parcel Post	✓
Parcel Concessions	✓	6
Postage Due	✓
Postage Due	✓
Priority Post	✓