Poster Stamp - Manifestazioni culturali della gioventù europea

Title

Poster Stamp - Manifestazioni culturali della gioventù europea

Type

Poster Stamp

Coverage

Italy

Date Issued

1942

Description

This poster stamp was issued for the "Manifestazioni culturali della gioventù europea" (cultural events for European youth). Held June 1830, 1942, in Weimar and Florence, the meeting brought together members of the national fascist youth movements of Germany and Italy—the Hitlerjugend (Hitler Youth) and the Gioventù italiana del Littorio (Italian Youth of the Lictor). The meetings featured competitions and events organized around five themes: Music, Youth Books, Youth Press, Youth Theater, and Radio.

This stamp's theme represents unity between Italy and Germany by showing overlapping portraits of Dante and German author Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The portrait of Dante is Raphael's painting of the poet (reversed from the original) from the artist's fresco Disputation of the Holy Sacrament in the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City. The portraits are flanked by two lions. Above the lion on the left is the Roman gladius sword and shield emblem of the Gioventù italiana del Littorio; above the lion on the right is the emblem of the Hitlerjugend. The left lion holds a shield with a fleur-de-lis, symbol of Florence, and the right lion holds a shield with a fasces, symbol of fascist Italy.

The stamp has text as follows: at the top: "MANIFESTAZIONI CULTURALI"; at the bottom: "DELLA GIOVENTÙ EUROPEA". The year below the lions, "ANNO / XX·EF.", stands for "20th year of the fascist era." The fascist era began when Mussolini rose to power after his infamous march on Rome in October 1922. The 20th year ran from October 28, 1941 to October 27, 1942. Along the bottom edge is the abbreviated name of the printer, "IST. POL. STATO - OFF. CARTE VALORI" (Istituto Poligrafico dello Stato, Officina Carte Valori), and the designer, "M. MELIS" (Melkiorre Melis). Malorzo erroneously records this as a 1944 issue.

Extent

30 × 43 mm

Bibliographic Citation

Malorzo no. 44-33
Kulturkundgebungen der Europäischen Jugend: Weimar-Florenz, 18. bis 30. Juni 1942: Wettbewerbe und Arbeitsgemeinschaften in Weimar. Weimar?: s.n., 1942. https://archive.org/details/EuropaischeJugend1942Wettbewerbe.
quota_periscopio. "Distintivo Manifestazioni Culturali Gioventu' Europea, Firenze Giugno XX 1942." ITALIA - Medaglie, Decorazioni, Distintivi, Miles Forum, March 24, 2015. Accessed December 4, 2020. https://miles.forumcommunity.net/?t=57488707.

Contributor

Istituto Poligrafico dello Stato, Officina Carte Valori (Rome, Italy)
Melkiorre Melis
Raphael

Language

Italian