First day of issue postmark – Saint John the Baptist, Patron of the Order (2025)

On the occasion of the issue of two stamps, collected in a sheetlet, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, Patron Saint of the Order of Malta, the Poste Magistrali counter located inside the Magistral Palace in Rome, with public entrance from Via delle Carrozze 79, will use the special postmark on 13 June 2025.

The postmark, created by Giancarlo Federico, reproduces a detail of the Baptism of Christ, which can be admired in the Chapel of Baptism, inside the Papal Basilica of St. Peter’s, represented on the postal issue.

The postmark is completed by the inscriptions “SOVRANO MILITARE ORDINE DI MALTA”, “POSTE MAGISTRALI” and “GIORNO DI EMISSIONE”, “SAN GIOVANNI BATTISTA PATRONO DELL’ORDINE”, as well as the date “13.VI.2025”.

Items for reposting, individually franked by the sender with stamps belonging to the relevant set, must reach the Poste Magistrali office by 13 August 2025. A suitable self-addressed envelope, bearing the Order of Malta stamps corresponding to the ordinary (Posta4) or priority (Posta1) postal rate in force in Italy, must be enclosed for the postmarked items to be returned under cover. For any return by registered mail, please contact Poste Magistrali in advance.

Items to be returned uncovered must reach Poste Magistrali by 27 June 2025 and must be individually marked as “Corrispondenza filatelica” (Philatelic correspondence) on the address side in indelible ink. Should this indication be missing, it will be applied by Poste Magistrali.