-
Rapallo, Riviera Ligure
Mailed in 2011 with two different stamps and just a little scuffing on the back. Grade: 2
-
Verona, Castle Scaligero
From 2011, a 4-3/4″ x 6-3/4″ card with serrated edges mailed with three different stamps and the blue postaprioritaria sticker affixed. Nice, busy artwork. Grade: 1
-
Saluti da Grado
The front of this card is perfect. The back is perfect, too; just very busy with a bilingual blue Aerphost and address sticker, and two uncancelled stamps totalling E1.60. Grade: 4
-
Sardinia, Isola di Tavolara
4-3/4″ x 6-5/8″ card mailed in 2011 with two stamps, via aerea label, two postmarks, orange postal barcoding, and affixed address label. Grade: 2
-
Venice, Scala Minelli
Also known as Scala Contarini del Bovolo, this palace originally dates from 1499. Not the sepia card, though it is also old. From Edizione Ongania. Grade: 1
-
Ciao da Roma, The Colosseum
This card was mailed from Poland in 2011 with two stamps, two full postmarks, and blue Priorytet (Polish) airmail sticker affixed. Grade: 3
-
Isole Borromee, Lago Maggiore
Don’t you believe any collection of Italian postcards should have one of Maggiore Lake? And this is a good one, mailed in 2011 with five stamps (three are faintly postmarked) and blue bilingual airmail sticker affixed. Grade: 1
-
Orta, Lago d’Orta
Five stamps, three are postmarked faintly; blue airmail sticker; orange postal barcoding. Grade: 1
-
Rome, Navona Square
Mailed from Ukraine (not Italy!) in 2011 with two stamps and two full postmarks. Grade: 3
-
A.C. Milan (Maximum Card)
Mailed in 2011 with the requisite stamp and postmark on the front, along with two other football stamps and full Verona postmark on the reverse. Orange postal barcoding on the reverse, too. That is inescapable now. Grade: 1
-
Saluti dal Lago d’Orta
Mailed in 2011 with four different stamps, postmark, and orange postal bar coding on the reverse. Mottarone at 1491 meters is identified in tiny print. Grade: 1
-
Rapallo, Night of feast
The printed caption only says “Night of Feast” but the card’s writer explains that this takes place on 1-3 July in honour of Rapallo’s Patron Saint. Mailed in 2011 with two uncancelled stamps costing E1.6 — thereby almost covering the cost of the card. Grade: 3
-
Venice, multiple views
If you look at this unused 4-5/8″ x 6-3/8″ card in real life, all these silver glitter sections around the edge and in the middle change color according to the position of the card. The scan makes the card look freaky, when actually it is quite dynamic. Grade: 1
-
Venice, Basilica San Marco
Unused 4-3/4″ x 6-3/4″ card. Grade: 1
-
Ravenna, Basilica di S. Apollinare in Classe, detail of the apse
Unused card. Grade: 1
-
Ravenna, Basilica di S. Apollinare in Classe, two views
Unused card. Grade: 1
-
Saluti da Riviera del Conero
Mailed in 2011, the upper half of this novelty postcard is cut to the contours of a butterfly. There are three stamps (two cancelled with postmarks, one uncancelled at all), and blue postaprioritaria and address labels affixed. Grade: 3
-
Villasimius, Sardinia
The front of this unmailed card is as-new but the reverse has writing and a huge abrasion. Grade: 5
-
Cattolica, panoramic view
The front is good; the reverse has some writing. Grade: 4
-
Lago Maggiore
Isola Bella, Isola Madre, and Isola Pescatori on this unused card. Grade: 1
-
Dolomiti, ski attractions
Val di Fassa. Val Badia. Val Gardena. Val Pusteria. All here for you on an unmailed card with writing on the back. Grade: 4
-
Sardegna, Parco Nazionale dell’Arcipelago di La Maddalena
Mailed in 2012 with stamp and full postmark. Some orange postal bar coding on reverse. Grade: 2
-
Calasetta, Sardegna
Mailed in 2011, this 4-5/8″ x 6-1/2″ card has two stamps, two postmarks, and aerea/address labels affixed. Orange postal barcoding on reverse. Grade: 3
-
Sardegna, Cala Mariolu
Mailed in 2011, the card has many illegible postmarks over four stamps; there’s also an address label. Grade: 2
-
Civita di Bagnoregio
Mailed in 2012, with two stamps, postmark, and address label affixed. Orange postal barcoding. Grade: 4
-
Isola
We don’t know which isola (island) this is, because the caption is covered by seven stamps–old and new, Vatican and Italy–of which only two have been cancelled by the full and clear postmark. Two different address labels are also affixed. Grade: 4
-
ATM trasporta Milano da 75 anni
Coming to us just after a visit to San Francisco, where we had the chance to see that city’s transport museum and also the variety of trams on the street (including these), we appreciate this Italian card even more, but we need to explain the reverse. It has four stamps and two large and full special postmarks: Brescia Centro, Mille Miglia “La Corsa Piu” Bella del Mondo (at least we assume these are special), and there’s also orange postal bar coding. Minor postmark ink transfer on the front. All in all, we give this Grade: 2
-
Pompei, Il Foro
Unused Brunner & C. card 8355, mottled with age on both sides, and all the more atmospheric because of that. Grade: 3
-
Assisi, Santuario o Eremo delle Carceri sul Monte Subasio
Unused card with a quotation from a 1922 Italian guidebook on the front–so that helps to date the card. Mottled and modestly stained with age. Grade: 3
-
Assisi, Il Convento di S. Francisco
Unused real photo card, aged. Grade: 3
-
Capri, Grotta Azzurra
And if the Grotta isn’t Azzurra enough by itself, the card certainly makes it look that way. Unused, Ed. Dominico Trampetti 1160, very heavily mottled with age, particularly on the reverse. Grade: 3
-
Firenze Antica – Deduta della Piazza S. Maria Novella
We have a short series of similar unused cards from Old Florence, by Casa Editrice Gino Giusti. Highly aged, but clean. Grade: 2
-
Firenze Antica – Deduta del Ponte della S.S. Trinita
We have a short series of similar unused cards from Old Florence, by Casa Editrice Gino Giusti. Highly aged, but clean, this is a view of the Bridge of the Holy Trinity. Grade: 2
-
Firenze Antica – Deduta della Porta Romana
We have a short series of similar unused cards from Old Florence, by Casa Editrice Gino Giusti. Highly aged, this is a view of the Roman Gate. Grade: 3
-
Firenze, Ex-Convento di S. Salvi – Cenacolo: Andrea del Sarto
Unused antique postcard. Grade: 3
-
Milano – Piazza Duomo
Unused, heavily aged sepia card. An attribution is there on the reverse, but it’s too small for us to see. Grade: 3
-
Milano – Duomo – Porta principale
Unused, aged, sepia card with one perforated edge indicating that it had been part of a set. The attribution on the back is to “Fabrica del Duomo,” which should be the same as the attribution we couldn’t read on the previous card. Grade: 2
-
Milano – Il Duomo
Unused, aged, sepia card with one perforated edge indicating that it had been part of a set. The attribution on the back is to “Fabrica del Duomo,” #002. Grade: 2
-
Pisa – Il pulpito nell’inferno del Battistero – Nicola Pisano
This sounds better in Italian than it does in English. The B&W card was not postally used, but has part of a (probably) longer message fully occupying the reverse–in English, and dated March 1910. Grade: 4
-
Siena – Ritratto del Sodoma
We put this into Google to see what we could learn, but that really didn’t help much at all, and we are as intrigued as ever. Unused, B&W “Edit. Ditta Stefano Venturini” card 529, from Siena. Grade: 1