Italy: Basilica of Superga

On 5th January I got a postcard from Italy.

It shows the Basilica of Superga. The Basilica of Superga is located on the eponymous hill in the vicinity of Turin. It was built between 1717 and 1731 at the behest of Duke Victor Amadeus of Savoy. Many members of the House of Savoy were buried in the church including five Kings of Sardinia and one King of Spain, however none of the members which served as Kings of Italy. 

A nice stamp was used here. It honours the Death Centenary of artist Cesare Maccari (issued 15-11-2019) and shows a detail of his painting Cicero Denounces Catiline. This reminds me of Latin classes in school where we once translated one of Cicero's Catiline Orations. I think a part of this painting was actually shown in our text book. A nice special postmark was used as well. Hopefully I will get some more mail from Turin this year, as the city will host the Eurovision Song Contest in May.

Thank You very much William!

Germany: Essen by Night

On 4th January I got a card from Germany.

It shows a view of Essen by night. The centerpiece of the card shows the Monument of Emperor William I. The Emperor visited Essen multiple times, as this was the headquarters of the Krupp company, which played a major role in supplying the Imperial military. The monument was erected in 1898 and Friedrich Alfred Krupp was one of its biggest sponsors. 

The card was sent on 31st December, but was just processed on 3rd January, so actually it is insufficiently stamped due to a postage increase becoming effective on New Year's Day. The stamp used here is from the series about Childhood Heroes and shows Vicky the Viking (issued 03-12-2020). It got cancelled with the Covid-19 postmark from the postmarking centre 45. Those postmarks are now in use for 1.5 years and there is still no end in sight.

Thank You very much Marcel!

South Korea: National Museum of Korea

Last Monday I got my first postcard of 2022. It came from South Korea.

The card shows the National Museum of Korea in Seoul. The National Museum of Korea was established in 1945 and is the most important museum about Korean art and history. Since its opening the museum moved several times. It is located at its current location since 2005 and since then it turned into one of the most visited museums in the World. What a great start for the new year!

The card was sent with a stamp about the Year of the Tiger (issued 07-12-2021) and its First Day Special Postmark. It is from a set of two and all the elements on the card are embossed.

Thank You very much Park!