From the Eternal City to the End of the Universe

This week sees new issues from the Mediterranean, specifically Italy and Israel. Italy is issuing three separate stamps. The first is a reproduction of a view of Rome which includes 17th and 18th century fountains and architecture, as well as an obelisk from ancient Rome. The stamp is an excellent representation of the centuries of history crowded into one city. The next stamp commemorates the centenary of noted Italian journalist and historian Indro Montanelli. Montanelli reported extensively during World War II, placing himself in many dangerous situations. After the war he remained active reporting from such hot spots as the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. The third stamp is a colorful depiction of a beautiful necklace designed by renowned Italian jewelers Bulgari (BVLGARI). These issues are all well designed and serve as an excellent introduction to Italian philately and culture.

The first of the Israeli issues a stamp honoring the Israeli Memorial Day with a depiction of the Israeli flag with attached banners. The second issue is a souvenir sheet issued jointly with Poland. It honors Berek Joselewicz, a Polish Jew who fought for Polish independence in the 18th century, leading one of the first all Jewish units of modern times. The image is from a painting by Juliusz Kossak. Israel is offering three stamps celebrating 2009 as an International Year of Astronomy. One depicts the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) which detects and observes gravitational waves from interstellar objects. Another depicts the medieval Jewish scholar Gersonides and the “Jacob’s Staff”, a cross-staff used for Astronomical observations. The third stamp depicts the detection of the phenomena of gravitational lensing. This involves the distortion of light emanating from a distant object space by another object’s gravitational field. The existence of this phenomena was predicted in Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity, helping to verify it. Israel is also offering a set of 12 stamps celebrating Israeli musicians of various backgrounds and genres.

It is clearly a fruitful week for collectors of Israel and Italy, but topical collectors of astronomy, music, history and art also will find many things to their liking. Further information on these issues can be found at the Italian Post and Israel Post.