The stamp depicts a scene from the beginning of Inferno in which Dante (accompanied by Virgil in this illustration but not in the text) is blocked by three beasts. The scene is taken from a miniature in Codex Urbinate Latino 365, a fifteenth-century manuscript in the Vatican Library. Each stamp is printed adjacent to a label with the third line from Inferno 1: "ché la / diritta / via / era / smarrita." (that the right way was lost). The first two lines of Inferno appear on the Vatican City and San Marino stamps, respectively. The stamp has text as follows: at the top: "€ 0,60"; at the bottom: "ITALIA"; and along the bottom, the abbreviated name of the printer: "I.P.Z.S. S.p.A. - ROMA - 2009" (Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato). The stamp was designed by Mauro Olivieri and Orlando Tomassi.]]> This postage stamp was issued as part of a joint issue with Italy and Vatican City for the Giornata della Lingua Italiana (Celebration Day of the Italian Language) in 2009. It depicts a scene from the beginning of Inferno in which Dante (accompanied by Virgil in this illustration but not in the text) is blocked by three beasts. The scene is taken from a miniature in Codex Urbinate Latino 365, a fifteenth-century manuscript in the Vatican Library. Each stamp is printed adjacent to a label with the second line from Inferno 1: "mi / ritrovai / per una / selva / oscura," (I found myself in a dark wood). The first and third lines of Inferno appear on the Vatican City and Italy stamps, respectively. The stamp was designed by Mauro Olivieri and Orlando Tomassi and printed by the Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato.]]> This postage stamp was issued as part of a joint issue with Italy and San Marino for the Giornata della Lingua Italiana (Celebration Day of the Italian Language) in 2009. It depicts a scene from the beginning of Inferno in which Dante (accompanied by Virgil in this illustration but not in the text) is blocked by three beasts. The scene is taken from a miniature in Codex Urbinate Latino 365, a fifteenth-century manuscript in the Vatican Library. Each stamp is printed adjacent to a label with the first line from Inferno 1: "Nel / mezzo / del cammin / di nostra / vita" (Midway in the journey of our life). The second and third lines of Inferno appear on the San Marino and Italy stamps, respectively. The stamp was designed by Mauro Olivieri and Orlando Tomassi and printed by the Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato.]]> Divina commedia and other works as well as one fresco. Each stamp is printed either horizontally or vertically between two labels: the left label is Raphael's portrait of Dante from the artist's fresco Disputation of the Holy Sacrament in the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City and the right label is a quotation from the Divina commedia relevant to the illustration on the stamp. The horizontally printed stamps have "christmas" and "peace" to the left and right of the portrait, respectively, while the vertically printed stamps have "christmas" below the portrait. At the bottom of each stamp are the denomination, air mail designation, and country in English and the denomination and country in Arabic.

Below are listed for each stamp the subject, label quotation, and illustration source (library, manuscript shelfmark, folio number, place of origin, artist, and approximate date of creation). Identification of the illustration sources was kindly provided by Melissa Conway.
  • Michel 887 – The three beasts – Inferno 1:49–51 – Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, Italien 2017, f. 10v, Lombardy, Master of the Vitae Imperatorum, ca. 1440
  • Michel 888 – Pope Celestine V – Inferno 3:59–60 – Unidentified; from a manuscript of the Vaticinia de summis pontificibus
  • Michel 889 – Paolo and Francesca – Inferno 5:103–105 – Milan, Biblioteca Trivulziana, 1076, f. 13v, Lombardy, ca. 1385
  • Michel 890 – Cerberus – Inferno 6:13–15 – Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Cod. Urb. lat. 365, f. 15r, Urbino, Guglielmo Giraldi and assistants, ca. 1478
  • Michel 891 – Dante and Virgil – Inferno 9:127–129 – Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Cod. Urb. lat. 365, f. 22v, Urbino, Guglielmo Giraldi and assistants, ca. 1478
  • Michel 892 – Farinata degli Uberti – Inferno 10:31–33 – Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Cod. Urb. lat. 365, f. 25r, Urbino, Guglielmo Giraldi and assistants, ca. 1478
  • Michel 893 – Pope Anastasius II – Inferno 11:7–9 – Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Cod. Urb. lat. 365, f. 28r, Urbino, Guglielmo Giraldi and assistants, ca. 1478
  • Michel 894 – Centaurs – Inferno 12:73–75 – Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Cod. Vat. lat. 4776, f. 42v, ca. 1390–1400
  • Michel 895 – Pier della Vigna – Inferno 13:58–61 – Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Cod. Urb. lat. 365, f. 33r, Urbino, Guglielmo Giraldi and assistants, ca. 1478
  • Michel 896 – Brunetto Latini – Inferno 15:31–33 – Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Cod. Urb. lat. 365, f. 38v, Urbino, Guglielmo Giraldi and assistants, ca. 1478
  • Michel 897 – Swindlers – Inferno 21:43–45 – Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Cod. Urb. lat. 365, f. 54v, Urbino, Guglielmo Giraldi and assistants, ca. 1478
  • Michel 898 – Caiaphas – Inferno 23:109–111 – Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, Italien 74, f. 68r, Florence, Bartolomeo di Fruosino, ca. 1420
  • Michel 899 – Dante and Virgil – Inferno 26:31–33 – Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Cod. Urb. lat. 365, f. 72v, Urbino, Guglielmo Giraldi and assistants, ca. 1478
  • Michel 900 – Bocca degli Abati – Inferno 32:37–39 – Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Cod. Urb. lat. 365, f. 87r, Urbino, Guglielmo Giraldi and assistants, ca. 1478
  • Michel 901 – Lucifer's Legs – Inferno 34:88–90 – Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Cod. Urb. lat. 365, f. 95v, Urbino, Guglielmo Giraldi and assistants, ca. 1478
  • Michel 902 – Cato – Purgatorio 1:71–72 – Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Cod. Urb. lat. 365, f. 97r, Urbino, Guglielmo Giraldi and assistants, ca. 1478
  • Michel 903 – Angel – Purgatorio 2:43–45 – Unidentified
  • Michel 904 – Manfred – Purgatorio 3:112–113 – Unidentified; possibly from a manuscript of the Liber ad honorem Augusti
  • Michel 905 – Belacqua – Purgatorio 4:103–105 – London, British Library, Egerton 943, f. 69v, Emilia or Padua, Master of the Antiphonar of Padua, ca. 1325–1350
  • Michel 906 – Sordello – Purgatorio 6:74–75 – London, British Library, Egerton 943, f. 74r, Emilia or Padua, Master of the Antiphonar of Padua, ca. 1325–1350
  • Michel 907 – Nino Visconti – Purgatorio 8:52–54 – London, British Library, Egerton 943, f. 76v, Emilia or Padua, Master of the Antiphonar of Padua, ca. 1325–1350
  • Michel 908 – Angel – Purgatorio 17:55–57 – Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Cod. Urb. lat. 365, f. 145r, Urbino, Guglielmo Giraldi and assistants, ca. 1478
  • Michel 909 – Leah – Purgatorio 27:100–102 – London, British Library, Egerton 943, f. 113r, Emilia or Padua, Master of the Antiphonar of Padua, ca. 1325–1350
  • Michel 910 – Eunoe River – Purgatorio 28:121–123 – Unidentified
  • Michel 911 – Dante and Beatrice – Purgatorio 31:103–104 – London, British Library, Egerton 943, f. 121r, Emilia or Padua, Master of the Antiphonar of Padua, ca. 1325–1350
  • Michel 912 – The order of paradise – Paradiso 1:109–111 – Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Cod. Barb. lat. 4112, f. 141r, Tuscany?, 1419
  • Michel 913 – Empyrean – Paradiso 2:112–114 – London, British Library, Yates Thompson 36, f. 132r, Tuscany, Giovanni di Paolo, ca. 1450
  • Michel 914 – Justinian – Paradiso 6:10–12 – Venice, Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana, It. IX, 276 (=6902), f. 56v, Veneto, ca. 1380–1400
  • Michel 915 – Rahab – Paradiso 9:112–116 – Venice, Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana, It. IX, 276 (=6902), f. 59v, Veneto, ca. 1380–1400
  • Michel 916 – Saint Francis – Paradiso 11:73–75 – Assisi, fresco by Cimabue in the Basilica of Saint Francis, Lower Church, ca. 1280
  • Michel 917 – Cacciaguida – Paradiso 17:58–60 – Padua, Biblioteca del Seminario, MS 67, f. 259v, Padua, early 1400s
  • Michel 918 – Eagle of Souls – Paradiso 19:1–3 – London, British Library, Yates Thompson 36, f. 162r, Tuscany, Giovanni di Paolo, ca. 1450
  • Michel 919 – Saturn – Paradiso 21:25–27 – Modena, Biblioteca Estense, α.X.2.14 = Lat. 209, f. 4v, Milan, ca. 1450–1460
  • Michel 920 – Jesus Christ – Paradiso 23:28–30 – London, British Library, Yates Thompson 36, f. 171r, Tuscany, Giovanni di Paolo, ca. 1450
  • Michel 921 – Saint Peter – Paradiso 24:34–36 – London, British Library, Yates Thompson 36, f. 172r, Tuscany, Giovanni di Paolo, ca. 1450
]]> Vitae Imperatorum]]> This first day cover was issued by the philatelic group Círculo Filatélico de Liniers and postmarked in Rosario, Santa Fe, on September 16, 1965. The cachet features Gustave Doré's portrait of Dante. Below the portrait is a detail from Doré's illustration for Purgatorio 2:43-44 depicting Dante and Virgil watching as a "heavenly pilot" guides his boat toward them as they stand on the shore. A banner proclaims "SEPTIMO CENTENARIO" in reference to the 700th anniversary of Dante's birth.]]> This maximum card was issued by Lupita and postmarked in Buenos Aires on September 16, 1965. The cachet features a black and white left-facing portrait of Dante, a quill pen, and three books with titles in Spanish: "LA / DIVINA COMEDIA" (Divine Comedy), "LIRICAS" (Poems), and "DE LA MONARQUIA" (On Monarchy). Above the image is "DANTE ALIGHIERI", to the left, vertically, is "Tarjeta primer día / First day card", and below is "Genial Poeta Florentino - 1265/1321" (great Florentine poet).]]> This first day cover was designed by C. Stephen Anderson. The cachet features a woodcut-style portrait of Dante above a brief biography of the poet. The text of the biography is as follows:

Born in Florence, Italy, in 1265, Dante Aligheri was perhaps the outstanding poet of the middle ages. He is often called the father of Italian literature. His best-known works are "New Life" and the "Divine Comedy". A lesser known but important work, "On Monarchy," advocated the separation of church and state. The last nineteen years of his life were spent wandering in exile. He died in Ravenna, Italy, in 1321.

Here Dante's surname is spelled "Aligheri," an accepted alternative for "Alighieri." The cachet is known in a black, green, and red versions.]]> This miniature sheet was issued to commemorate the turn of the millennium in general and achievements and events of the second half of the 13th century in particular. The sheet features seventeen stamps and seventeen events with a short description of each along the left side. The stamps are captioned as follows:

  • "1250– Expansion of the Inquisition"
  • "1260– Chartres Cathedral"
  • "1260– Naumburg sculptures"
  • "1261– First English Parliament"
  • "1270– Maestà by Cimabue"
  • "1271– Marco Polo"
  • "1271– Divine Wind"
  • "1274– Death of Thomas Aquinas"
  • "1277– Arezzo Cathedral"
  • "1286– 'The Maid' of Norway, Queen of Scotland"
  • "1290– Jewish exodus from England"
  • "1291– Acre is taken over by Muslims"
  • "1291– Moshe de Leon incorporates his work in the text of The Zohar"
  • "1292–98 – German Civil War"
  • "1294– Death of Kublai Khan"
  • [Stamp not captioned; caption from description: "1295 Dante (Florence, 1265) writes La Vita Nuova, dedicated to Beatrice. Albeit impossible, his love remained alive forever, immortalized in one of the masterpieces of Western literature."
  • "1296– 'Autumn Colors on the Quiao and Hua Mountains' by Zhan Mengfu"

All of the stamps have a denomination of 60¢ (0.60 XCD).

]]> This miniature sheet was issued to commemorate the turn of the millennium in general and achievements and events of the first half of the 14th century in particular. The sheet features seventeen stamps and seventeen events with a short description of each along the left side. The stamps are captioned as follows:

  • "Robert Bruce crowned King of Scotland 1306"
  • "Fresco painting by Giotto 1306"
  • "Mansa Musa, Ruler of Mali 1307"
  • "Dante completes The Divine Comedy 1321"
  • "Noh Theater developed in Japan 1325"
  • "Tenochtitlan founded by Aztecs 1325"
  • "Ibn Batuta sets out on 24 year journey 1325"
  • "Great Munich fire 1327"
  • "1328 Ivan I makes Moscow capital"
  • "Hundred Years War begins 1337"
  • "First use of cannon in Europe 1346"
  • "Black Death devastates Europe 1348"
  • "Boccaccio starts writing The Decameron 1348"
  • "Eyeglasses developed in Italy 1350"
  • "Plate armor replacing chain mail 1350"
  • "Grand Canal of China is completed 1326"
  • "Great migration of Maoris to New Zealand 1350"

All of the stamps have a denomination of 50¢ (0.50 XCD).

]]> This miniature sheet features nine paintings by the French Romantic artist Eugène Delacroix (1798–1863) and is part of a much larger series of seventy-two stamps celebrating European painters. The stamps on this sheet reproduce the following paintings:

  • The Barque of Dante
  • The Massacre at Chios
  • The Women of Algiers (In Their Apartment)
  • Entry of the Crusaders in Constantinople
  • Liberty Leading the People
  • [Battle]
  • Christ on the Sea of Galilee
  • Death of Sardanapalus
  • The Combat of the Giaour and Hassan

All of the stamps have a denomination of 750 FG (750 GNF).

]]>
Dante Alighieri, Italian poet, born in Florence, May 21, 1265. The world regards him as one of the greatest poets of all time. His most famous work was The Divine Comedy, relating his dream journey into the world of souls, through hell, purgatory, and heaven.]]>
Dante was born in Florence, Italy. His parents died when he was young and Brunetti Latine, a statesman, supervised his education. Many scholars think that he studied philosophy at Bologna and Padua, and theology at Paris. Since the 1800s Dante has been regarded as one of the world's greatest poets. Chaucer & Milton imitated him, Longfellow, Shelley & Hugo praised his perfect style, and his sincere poetic character. Two outstanding works are his New Life and the Divine Comedy. Dante held high political office in Florence, but a hostile political faction exiled him in 1302.]]> Postage Stamp - United States - 1965]]> Postage Stamp - United States - 1965]]>