216 pp. - b/w and colour ill. - softbound - printed 2012
Italian text

LUX IN ARCANA
THE VATICAN SECRET ARCHIVE REVEALS ITSELF
Catalogue of the exhibition held by the Capitoline Museums in Rome from 29 February to 9 September 2012

100 original documents, selected among the treasures preserved and cherished by the Vatican Secret Archives for centuries, conclaves, heresies, popes and emperors, crusades, excommunications, ciphered letters, manuscripts, codices, and ancient parchments. Really ancient and priceless papal documents leave the Vatican for the first and possibly only time in history.

196 pp. - colour ill. - softbound - printed 2012
Italian text

CORRESPONDENCE AESTHETICS IN THE XIX CENTURY
Stories of paper
Historical and Postal Notes and Documents

A showcase of covers, letter seals, greeting cards, headed letters, postage stamps, cancellations and franking, illustrated postcards, all of them reproduced in colours underlying their aesthetic value and analyzing their content and communication intent also from a social point of view.

216 pp. - b/w and colour ill. - softbound - printed 2012
English text

LUX IN ARCANA
THE VATICAN SECRET ARCHIVE REVEALS ITSELF

100 original documents, selected among the treasures preserved and cherished by the Vatican Secret Archives for centuries, conclaves, heresies, popes and emperors, crusades, excommunications, ciphered letters, manuscripts, codices, and ancient parchments. Really ancient and priceless papal documents leave the Vatican for the first and possibly only time in history.

12 pp. - colour ill. - saddle stitch binding - printed 2018
Italian text

ITALIAN STATES
ORIGINALS AND FORGERIES
The forgeries by Jean De Sperati

12 pages with the colour and enlarged reproductions of the originals and of the corresponding forgeries created by Jean De Sperati and the description of the features to distinguish them.
It deals with the forgeries of Regency of Naples, Duchy of Parma, Papal State, Kingdom of Sardinia, Sicily, Grand Duchy of Tuscany.

36 pp. - colour ill. - saddle stitch binding - printed 2018
Italian text

FORGERIES FOR POST
USED IN ITALY UP TO 1863
Lombardy Venetia - Kingdom of Naples and Provinces - Papal State - Kingdom of Italy

36 pages with the colour and enlarged reproductions of the forgeries for post used in the Italian States and in Italy up to 1863.

24 pp. - colour ill. - saddle stitch binding - printed 2019
Italian text

2 GRANA POSTAGE STAMPS OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES

24 pages printed in colour illustrate, by means of tens of enlargements and details, the main features of the 2 grana postage stamps of the Kingdom of Naples, including the numerous interesting engraving varieties of these stamps created by the mastery of Giuseppe Masini and Gennaro De Masa.

The complete reconstructions of the I and of the II plate are printed in colour for the first time.

402 pp. - b/w and colour ill. - hardbound - printed 2015
italian text

1860
LETTERS FROM THE WAR OF ITALY
ON THE TRAIL OF GARIBALDI'S SOLDIERS

The Authors use postal materials as historical source, relating the historical events to postal history, and vice versa, also thanks to the fortunate recovery of two letters of that period that are systematically analyzed.

The scenery is the enterprise of Garibaldi's Thousand to conquer the Kingdom of Two Sicilies: in this context, the system of postal communications that played a strategic role in it is examined. This central event of Italian Risorgimento is narrated from a different and unreleased viewpoint, highlighting also a slice of the daily life of some participants to Garibaldi's enterprise, exploring for the first time the contents of the letters that often narrate events in a different way.

The book develops in parallel a rigorous postal-historical study of the rates and of the ways of sending mail from and to the Kingdom of Two Sicilies, highlighting the fast changes in postal communication, determined by Garibaldi's advance and by the other events connected to the development of the Kingdom of Italy.

Dealing with a period of war and revolution, the Authors have found some difficulties in finding the norms that determined the changes in the correspondence rates.

36 pp. - colour ill. - saddle stitch binding - printed 2018
Italian text

2 GRANA POSTAGE STAMPS OF THE KINGDOM OF SICILY

The three plates prepared for the print of 2 grana postage stamps of the Kingdom of Sicily are reproduced in over thirty plates in colour and b/w.
All the retouches and also the single plates (whole, divided into two and four parts) are examined in detail with minute enlargements, so to make the consultation of every single postage stamp easy even to less expert people.

128 pp. - colour ill. - hardbound - horizontal format - printed 2003
French text

JEAN DE SPERATI
THE MAN WHO COPIED POSTAGE STAMPS
A BIOGRAPHY

Result of the fruitful meeting between the author and Sperati's daughter, Yvonne, who made available to the journalist thousands of unreleased family documents, the book is the compendium of a long research of archive that combines private aspects and public events of the famous faker of international reputation.
Numerous are the images that enrich the book, by means of documents, letters, postage stamps and photos.
A work useful both to expert collectors and philatelists, both to those who are simply attracted or intrigued by the eccentric personality of Jean de Sperati, that helps to understand better the reasons and the results of his peculiar work.

62 pp. - colour ill. - saddle stitch binding - printed 2018
Italian text

ORIGINALS AND FORGERIES
Scattered notes

This is the third volume of the series "Originals and Forgeries". It takes into consideration different examples, in addition to those represented in the previous volumes, of: Lombardy Venetia, Kingdom of Italy, World War I, Trentino-Alto Adige, Constantinople, Italian East Africa, Italian Occupations of World War II, Local issues in the R.S.I. period, Committees of National Liberation, Italian Republic, Trieste A, San Marino, Vatican State and China.

64 pp. - over 200 b/w ill. - format cm 21x29,7 - softbound - printed 2016
series «History through documents»
POINT VALUATIONS
Italian text

THE POST IN THE ESTE TERRITORIES
AND IN THE DUCHY OF MODENA
HISTORY AND POSTAL HISTORY 1453-1852

CATALOGUE OF POSTMARKS 2016

Following several new findings, the new edition of the catalogue of marks relevant to the Este Duchy from the fourth volume of "The Post in the Este territories and in the Duchy of Modena. History and postal history 1453-1852".

New postmarks, several handwritten marks of the different offices and complementary postmarks.
Main variations refer to colours of ink used, to periods of use, but above all to "first date known" or "last date known".

194 pp. - b/w ill. - saddle stitch binding - printed 2016
RARITY SCALE VALUATIONS
Italian text

TRAVELLING POST OFFICES IN SICILY
Catalogue of the postmarks used by travelling offices and by couriers
from 1862 to 1973

The subject dealt with is related to the non occasional use in Sicily of travelling post offices, both overland and by sea route, that have been working in a period that can be defined "classical" for the Italian postal history, that is the one included in the first century of adjustment of the administrative activity after the Unification of Italy.
An amazing number of postmarks has come out, attesting the fervour with which the development of communications was welcome and encouraged also in Sicily. The largest possible number of the postmarks described has been reproduced in the book.

246 pp. - colour ill. - hardbound - 2nd ed. 2017
Italian text

THE 1/2 TORNESE POSTAGE STAMP OF 1860
"SAVOY CROSS"
Technical-descriptive study with the reconstruction of the table
Second Edition

Introduction by Raffaele Diena

Thanks to the process the authors have used for the plating of each of the one hundred "varieties", through computer comparisons and thousands of photographs available, the identification, with mathematical accuracy, of every position of the "cross" is now possible.

For the present second edition the whole volume has been revised, corrected and enriched in the light of new archive acquisitions and of photographic documentation. In most cases, pictures have been replaced with higher definition ones.
Compared to the first edition, photos are now more complete with all the hundred 'varieties' also of the Trinacria.
Three unreleased sections have been added: the chapter about forgeries, deepened and enriched with an extended treatment of the forgeries by De Sperati, in order to allow for sure their recognizing; an appendix about Trinacria (postal use, cancellations, forgeries); and, in the end, an appendix with the first attempt of reconstruction of the second plate of 1/2 grano of the Kingdom of Naples.

From the preface by Raffaele Diena.
"The present grand work about a sole postal value used only for some months in the period just before the unification of Italy represents, for sure, a display of courage and resolution by the authors. It is not so easy to obtain so many documents and information, even though they had an important reference point in the work by Emilio Diena about the postage stamps of the Kingdom of Naples. [...]besides the postal-historical research, with rates and use of the time, the different steps in the realization and technical characteristics in details, it is quite relevant the fact that the present volume has as its main aim the identification, with mathematical accuracy, of every position of the 'cross'. The authors have concentrated their efforts in this, thanks to the process they have used for the plating of each of the one hundred 'varieties', through computer comparisons and thousands of photographs available."

208 pp. - colour ill. - hardbound - printed 2017
POINT VALUATIONS
Italian text

POST IN THE PROVINCE OF BERGAMO
from the Lombardy - Venetia administration to the Sardinian - Italian one
1850-1866

Completely colour illustrated with the reproduction of letters and postmarks, the work is composed of two parts.
In the first one a description is given of the geographic, political and economic situation of the province of Bergamo in the years over 1859, the year of the annexation to the Kingdom of Sardinia; in this context the postal services on the territory, both in the Lombardy - Venetia period and in the Sardinian - Italian one, are examined too.
In the second part, that constitutes the catalogue with relevant valuations, all the 76 post offices that have operated in the province are listed alphabetically (except Bergamo, country seat, put at the beginning) and classified on the basis of the canceller postmarks used in the period examined.

The pertaining historical administrative period is taken into consideration In the introduction of the different postmarks, for the so called "pre-existing" offices, i.e. instituted in the Lombardy - Venetia period.
For the offices of new institution, created progressively from January 1860, the belonging to the Sardinian - Italian period is implied, therefore the relevant valuation is not conditioned by the peculiar historical period.

The canceller postmark, when unique, or the different and subsequent ones, when more than one, are described for every single office.
Some postmarks, in the period of their use, were impressed with inks in colour different from black, in shades that go from light blue to green.
The first and the last date known are reported for every postmark of every office.

112 pp. - colour illustrations - format cm 21x29,7 - high quality glossy paper - softbound - printed 2018
series "History through documents"
Italian text

ALSO AS FREE BOOK (class B)

SCATTERED PAPERS
Garibaldine correspondences by and to Ippolito Nievo
Insights into Sicilian postal history
1859-1861

The Sicily of 1859-1861 told through postal history and Ippolito Nievo letters. Some insights into an extraordinary period, with gattopardesche atmospheres, which preceded the Unity of Italy on the island, analysing the effects of revolution on the postal system and the correspondence of a brilliant and idealist young man who spent last months of his life in Sicily following Garibaldi's troops.

From the preface by Giulio Perricone, President of the Sicilian Philatelic Union
"The two collectors authors of this work [...] if on the one hand have added a piece to the history of the patriot who was wrecked on the journey between Palermo and Naples in 1861 [...] on the other have enriched, with a learned publication, the great chapter of Italian postal history, of Sicily, of the Garibaldian period, of the emergency mail systems connected to an insurrectional situation."

From the introduction by Francesca Tamburlini, Head of the Manuscripts and Rare Items Section of "Vincenzo Joppi" Civic Library of Udine
"The text [...] turns the attention on some almost unexplored aspects of these writings, that is on the "conventional" elements and marks found on the envelopes [...] without neglecting the texts of the letters that are resumed and cited to make the meaning of those external signs better understood. [...] The essay of the two authors comes to the rescue and opens up a new world, guiding us from the place of departure of the letter to its final destination [offering] of these Ippolito's documents an additional reading."

480 pp. - more than 900 colour ill. - format cm 21x29,7 - high quality glossy paper - hardbound - printed 2018
series "History through documents"
POINT RARITY SCALE
Italian text

ALSO AS FREE BOOK (class C)

SOME HINTS OF MILANESE HISTORY FROM THE XIV TO THE XIX CENTURY
THE POST IN MILAN 1849-1859
CATALOGUE OF CANCELLATIONS AND POSTMARKS IN MILAN POST OFFICE

with the cooperation of Gabriele Cafulli, Francesco Luraschi, Massimiliano Ferroni, Giuseppe Antonio Natoli

Description and cataloguing of the Lombardy Venetia postmarks in the Post Office of Milan, from which all correspondence transited, in the period from the introduction of postage stamps to the liberation of 1859. A great variety of uses, shapes, colours, a continuous experimentation of new technologies for the production of handstamps, inks, stamps, papers.

For each handstamp, the characteristics of the impression (size and type of characters); any changes made over time and, when significant for classification, the evolution of the impression in the period of use with different degrees of wearing; the intended use specifying if and when the handstamp was used; the total period of use and the period observed for each intended use; the degree of rarity for each type of use (stamp or cancellation).

Maximum space for "typological" cancellations and postmarks, i.e. those regularly used for a certain period of time or even occasionally in very specific situations. Only a nod is given for the errors in the dates (missing, inverted, etc.) Exhaustive and complete the classification of squared and small circle stamps based on different types in perfect chronological sequence.

Some sections complete the catalogue: examples of the various cases of error in the date composition, registered letters, more details.

Thanks also to the cooperation of enthusiasts and scholars of the most diverse disciplines, the work presents, in addition, Milan postal history from its origins to the end of Austrian domination, the postal reform, postal rates and services, the first and second issue postage stamps, insights, a historical overview.

288 pp. - colour ill. - hardbound - printed 2019 - reprinted 2020
Limited numbered edition of 200 copies
Italian and English text

The volume deals with the classification of varieties of constant defects in the postage stamps of the I and II issue of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.

The main purpose is to make Grand Duchy of Tuscany stamps available to collectors and, as a valid guide, detailed as much as possible, to guarantee the opportunity for them to learn about and correctly classify constant defects.

524 pp. - colour ill. - hardbound with case - printed 2020 - numbered edition of 100 copies signed by the author
Italian text

STUDY OF ESSAYS, PROOFS AND POSTAGE STAMPS OF THE ESTE DUCHY

With a preface by Thomas Mathà and His Imperial and Royal Highness, Archduke, Duke of Modena, Reggio, Guastalla, Galicia and Lodomeria, Martino of Austria-Este

The Author has devoted almost all his collecting life to the study of the postage stamps of Modena, that means of the Este Duchy.

The work, accompanied by several hundreds of images, is the result of his researches and deepening concerning the whole genesis of the Este postage stamps, including also the essays and the proofs necessary to create the first examples of the postage stamps of Modena.

The reader finds, therefore, a rich and exhaustive compendium of official news, facts and historical and technical events about Modena philately, rebuilding this way an important frame of it.

232 pp. - colour and b/n ill. - hardbound - printed 2020
Italian and German text

THE ALPS AND MAIL ROUTES

This book was born from the encounter of two cultural interests of the author, the study of human settlements and of the routes across the Alps and his collecting passion for postal history.

The work describes the history of the post through the Alps crossings from the Roman period to the XIX century. It aims at giving an overall picture of a phenomenon that has affected many and different regions over the centuries, by emphasizing not only the postal history perspective but also human stories, the road network, means of transportation and hospitality places. It is a "story" based on texts, news and information collected through the years, addressed also to the reader curious in Alpine crossings.

The passages that have been connecting northern Italy with border countries for centuries are described geographically, while under a historical point of view, the postal history through the Alps ends with the beginning of the big transalpine railways, at the end of the XIX century, which "deleted" an alpine land made of routes and post stations, by carrying bags of correspondence from a plain city to another.

The first part concerns the European postal system evolution from Cursus Publicus to the establishment of the Universal Postal Union in the XIX century, and also the alternate events relevant to the transalpine road network, the means of transportation of the post across the Alps over the centuries and the hospitality history along the roads travelled by the post.

In the second part there is the history of that alpine passes that have been mandatory passages for the international postal services, for nearly two thousand years, recalling the evolution of the services and rediscovering, where possible, proofs of ancient routes and historic hospitality places where mail, goods and travellers could find a shelter during a very often adventurous trip.

The Alps have never been a barrier among people and since the time of emperor Augustus up today, thanks to their structure, the transfer of men, goods and mail has never ceased. The easy passages between one chain and another have made the history of postal relations between Po Valley in the South and central and northern European countries in the North, and the names of these Alpine crossings, often on letter-fronts, still indicate the great doors open in the Continent's heart.

168 pp. - colour ill. - hardbound - printed 2021 - numbered edition of 100 copies signed by the author
Italian text

THE POSTAGE STAMPS OF THE PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT OF THE EX DUCHY OF MODENA
Study and plating of postage stamps, study of forgeries and anthology of the most famous forgers
BRIEF POSTAL HISTORY OF CARPI FROM 1786 TO 1863

This volume, complete with plates and numerous colour images, deals with the study of the plating of the Duchy of Modena Provisional Government postage stamps and the history of the main forgeries of the Duchy and Provisional Government postage stamps, including forged cancellations used.

The plating and detailed study, besides to reconstruct how the composition plates for the various printing must have been originally, above all serve to identify in a plate which individual stamps are certainly original. Those that do not find a place in the plate can be considered as uncertain and therefore worthy of further examination, before being definitively considered forgeries.
The work is accompanied by a brief history of the main forgers who have operated from 1865 onwards.

In conclusion, a short treatise on Postal History of Carpi Office, with the illustration of many letters, including a new find dated 29 January 1513, addressed to Alberto III Pio, last lord of Carpi.