50th Anniversary of Italian Cycling Championships

I’ve lived in Italy since 1994 so I thought it was time that I listed some Italian stamps. I picked up this 1967 Italian First Day Cover at an antiques market at Piazza Cola di Rienzo in Rome; Primo Giorno di Emissione (first day of issue) is printed in red. It celebrates the 50th anniversary of the round-Italy cycling championships the Giro d’Italia, and was issued by a prestigious Italian First Day Cover collectors’ society – the Venetia Club – stamped and numbered by them as Venetia 250/it.

Italian - 50th Giro d'Italia -1967- FDC

All three stamps were designed by the team of Consolazione, Cuzzani, de Stefani and depict: 40 lire – Ciclisti in salita (cyclists climbing uphill) – print run of 25 million ; 90 lire – Ciclisti in volata (racing cyclists) – print run of 15 million; 500 lire – Ciclisti in pianura (cyclists on level ground) – print run of 3 million.