A wonderful surprise from the land of pizza and pasta. Fooled by its vertical orientation, I at first thought that this cover was a postcard, especially with the colorful souvenir sheet on top. But when I turned it over to read the message, I realized I was looking at the back of an envelope! What a curious cover - a wonderful surprise indeed!
The colorful souvenir sheet, issued 25 Feb 08, celebrates the song "Nel Blu, Dipinto di Blu" (literally "In the blue painted blue"), which is more popuarly known as "Volare" (Italian for "to fly"). The song, performed by Domenico Modugno and recorded in 1958, is a ballad in a dramatic chanson style, in which Modugno describes the feeling he has (which he likens to flying) when with his lover. It is the only song ever by an Italian artist to reach the top of the Billboard Hot 100, and it was also the first to receive the Record of the Year (1958) award at the Grammies. It is the only foreign-language song to ever attain this prestigious title.
It has gained widespread popularity since its debut and has reached the top of charts all over the world through translations into various languages: "Воларе (Volare)," Russia; "Dans le bleu du ciel bleu", France; "En el azul del cielo," Spain; "Jouw ogen," Belgium; "Taivaan sinessä," Finland; "Azul pintado de azul," Mexico, Argentina, Brazil.
As for the design of the souvenir sheet, perhaps the image of the figure "soaring" is meant to show a visual representation of a the literal feeling of flying described in the song. In the background is a picturesque view of a town situated on a mountain next to the sea, perhaps typical of a certain region of Italy? According to Poste Italiane, the watermark-like circle on the stamp is meant to represent a 45 vinyl record, an evidenced by the "45 giri" inscription on the right side of the stamp.
It has gained widespread popularity since its debut and has reached the top of charts all over the world through translations into various languages: "Воларе (Volare)," Russia; "Dans le bleu du ciel bleu", France; "En el azul del cielo," Spain; "Jouw ogen," Belgium; "Taivaan sinessä," Finland; "Azul pintado de azul," Mexico, Argentina, Brazil.
As for the design of the souvenir sheet, perhaps the image of the figure "soaring" is meant to show a visual representation of a the literal feeling of flying described in the song. In the background is a picturesque view of a town situated on a mountain next to the sea, perhaps typical of a certain region of Italy? According to Poste Italiane, the watermark-like circle on the stamp is meant to represent a 45 vinyl record, an evidenced by the "45 giri" inscription on the right side of the stamp.
The stamp to the lower left of the souvenir sheet is part of a set of 9 issued on 08 Feb 06 to celebrate the XX Olympic Winter Games held at Turin in 2006. This particular stamp features the biathlon, a winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting.
The games at Turin marked the second time Italy hosted the Olympic Winter Games, the first being the VII Olympic Winter Games in Cortina d'Ampezzo in 1956. Italy also hosted the Games of the XVII Olympiad in Rome in 1960. The official motto of the XX Olympic Winter Games was "Passion lives here."
An interesting thing to note about Turin: Turin is the birth place of solid chocolate. It was in Turin that, at the end of the 18th century, Mr. Doret invented a revolutionary machine that could make solid chocolate (as opposed to drinking chocolate).
The games at Turin marked the second time Italy hosted the Olympic Winter Games, the first being the VII Olympic Winter Games in Cortina d'Ampezzo in 1956. Italy also hosted the Games of the XVII Olympiad in Rome in 1960. The official motto of the XX Olympic Winter Games was "Passion lives here."
An interesting thing to note about Turin: Turin is the birth place of solid chocolate. It was in Turin that, at the end of the 18th century, Mr. Doret invented a revolutionary machine that could make solid chocolate (as opposed to drinking chocolate).
The two stamps on the lower right are definitives.
The stamps were canceled on 04 Jul 08 (America's 232nd birthday! :-) ) at Rovigo, a town in the Veneto region of northeastern Italy.
The stamps were canceled on 04 Jul 08 (America's 232nd birthday! :-) ) at Rovigo, a town in the Veneto region of northeastern Italy.
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