although there is no longer any trace of them in Vasto, some historical sources report the presence in the town of the Knights of St. John as early as 1300, to whom a church and a hospital belonged. However, the commandery of Vasto Aimone would have been established during the 17th century, remaining active until at least 1815.

The sheet contains, on the left side, the depiction of an ancient bird’s eye view map ‘…della Città del Vasto’, dated 1793, inside which, enclosed by the perforation, forming the stamp, is a detail of the ancient historical centre of the city. On the inside, the legend ‘Commenda di Vasto Aimone’, the inscriptions ‘SOVRANO MILITARE ORDINE DI MALTA’ and ‘POSTE MAGISTRALI’, the emblem of the Order’s activities and the face value ‘€ 3.00’.

On the two € 1.30 stamps, placed on the right side of the sheet, there are images taken from an ancient cabreo of the commandery, kept in the Magistral Archives of the Order of Malta, dating back to 1779. In particular:

– the upper stamp depicts some of the town buildings attributed to the commandery, showing the structure of the church dedicated to St John the Baptist and other related parts.

– the lower stamp depicts a map of an agricultural area attributed to the commandery, in the district of San Tommaso.

On each stamp are inserted, the legend ‘Commenda di Vasto Aimone’, the inscriptions ‘SOVRANO MILITARE ORDINE DI MALTA’ and ‘POSTE MAGISTRALI’, the emblem of the Order’s activities and the respective face value, ‘€ 1.30’.

Credits: image of “Pianta della Città del Vasto”, courtesy of the Municipality of the City of Vasto.