On the occasion of the issue of three 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 23 June 2026.

The postmark, designed by Giancarlo Federico, features a detail of Saint John the Baptist as depicted in Sandro Botticelli’s painting Madonna and Child with Saint John the Baptist and Saint John the Evangelist which is shown on the sheet of the corresponding 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 “23.VI.2026”.

Items for reposting, individually franked by the sender with stamps belonging to the relevant set, must reach the Poste Magistrali office by 24 August 2026. A suitable self-addressed envelope, bearing the Order of Malta stamps corresponding to the ordinary (Posta4) 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 7 July 2026 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.