The postage stamp celebrating the 160th anniversary of the founding of the Italian Red Cross, which took place in Milan on 15 June 1864, was presented on the morning of Saturday 15 June in Rome, at the headquarters of the Civita Association.
The stamp depicts Italian Red Cross volunteers involved in rescuing victims of the dramatic Morandi Bridge collapse in Genoa on 14 August 2018. The sheet of four stamps depicts the typical torches of the torchlight procession, which takes place every year in June between Solferino and Castiglione delle Stiviere, in Northern Italy, in memory of the Battle of Solferino on 24 June 1859, from which Henry Dunant was inspired to create a voluntary movement to provide aid to the wounded at battle sites.
The ceremony was attended by: Rosario Valastro, National President of the Italian Red Cross, Giovanni Machetti, Director of Philately of Poste Italiane, Gian Luca Amici, Director General of the Post Office of the Republic of San Marino, Federico Pedini Amati, Secretary of State for Tourism and the Post Office of the Republic of San Marino, Antonino Intersimone, Director of Telecommunications and Information Systems of the Governorate of the Vatican City State, Fausta Bergamotto, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy, and Giorgio Battioni, Administrative Director of the Order of Malta’s Poste Magistrali.
“I would like to thank all the entities that have collaborated in the realisation of this important project; we presented the stamp on the day of the celebrations of what for us is not only an important anniversary, but an opportunity to emphasise that the Italian Red Cross, after 160 years, is still here, close to anyone in need of help, willing to support vulnerable people, anywhere and in any context. We are a beautiful story of our country, a story to be lived and told, also through this stamp,” these were the words of the President of the Italian Red Cross, Rosario Valastro.
In his speech, the Director of Poste Magistrali stressed the historical link between the Order of Malta and the Italian Red Cross: “Providing relief, assisting, treating and protecting people in need or in danger, the sick, the injured, refugees, victims of disasters, is our common mission, which throughout history we have carried out, sometimes in parallel, sometimes jointly, during earthquakes and other serious disasters, from the warlike contexts of the World Wars to, unfortunately, the contemporary ones of Ukraine and Palestine, with the associated terrible humanitarian crises. Best wishes and congratulations to the Italian Red Cross on its 160th anniversary, whose commitment to its fellow man is perfectly summed up in the motto “Ovunque per chiunque” (Everywhere for everyone) that stands out on the joint issue’.
