0681 ITALY (Campania) - Historic Centre of Naples (UNESCO WHS)

Naples is one of the oldest continuously-inhabited cities in the world, Greek settlements being established there in the second millennium BC. Subsequent the city named Neápolis played a key role in the merging of Greek culture into Roman society. Following the decline of the Western Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire recaptured the city from the Ostrogoths, keeping them, with little interruption, until the early 9th century, when it gained the independence. In 1137 the Duchy of Naples came under Norman control, joining with the Kingdom of Sicily, which in 1197 went to the German House of Hohenstaufens. Becoming King of Sicily in 1266, the Angevin duke Charles I moved the capital from Palermo to Naples. In 1282 the Kingdom of Sicily was split in half and Naples served as the capital city of the Kingdom of Naples until 1816. Thereafter, in union with Sicily, it became the capital of the Two Sicilies until the unification of Italy in 1861.

Naples has retained the imprint of the successive cultures that emerged in Europe and the Mediterranean basin, its urban fabric representing twenty-five centuries of evolution. It has long been a major cultural centre with a global sphere of influence, particularly during the Renaissance and Enlightenment eras. The most prominent architectural structures which survived until today are in Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque styles. Historic Centre of Naples is the largest in Europe, and, being of exceptional value, was listed in 1995 by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

About the stamps
Received from a postcrosser from Naples, this postcard has stamps issued in San Marino and no postmark, so simply I don't know from where it went toward me.

The first two stamps, ones of the most beautiful that I received them so far, are part of a series depicting drawings of women's heads by Emilio Greco, named Civic Virtues, issued on 1976 and containing ten stamps:
• Modesty (10) - it's on this postcard
• Continence (20) - it's on this postcard
• Firmness (50)
• Altruism (100)
• Hope (150)
• Prudence (220)
• Justice (250)
• Faith (300)

The following two stamps are part of a series of three issued in 1976 by San Marino with the ocassion of the Bicentennial of the United States:
• United States Capitol in Washington (70) - it's on this postcard
• Statue of Liberty in Washington (150)
• Independence Hall in  Philadelphia (180) - it's on this postcard

The fifth stamp was issued in 1975 to commemorate Naples Stamp Exhibition.

All the stamps are printed by Courvoisier S.A., from Switzerland, founded in December 1880 by Alexandre Courvoisier as L’Imprimerie Courvoisier, closed down in 30th April 2001.

References
Naples - Wikipedia
Historic Centre of Naples - UNESCO official website
Civic Virtues - Catawiki


sender: Vincenzo Caputo / enzofil21 (postcrossing)
sent from ?, on 03.2013
photo: Mario Celentano