ITALY 2004

Italy 2004 stamps, available online at Io Collezionista. In November 2004, the year the Italian Republic stamps in this subcategory belong to, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi granted a pardon to Salvatore Mesina, one of the best known figures of post-war Sardinian banditry. In 1992 he had also acted as mediator with the kidnappers of the young Farouk Kassam at Porto Cervo, although his account later differed from the official one: payment of 1 billion lire on one side against the hostage being freed without ransom on the other. Mesina was arrested again in 2013, accused of planning a kidnapping, and the 2016 trial would sentence him to 30 years in prison and revoke the pardon he had received from the President of the Republic. Among the more interesting issues in this subcategory are a stamp of 2.80 Euro from 2004 and a 2004 philatelic card dedicated to the art of lacemaking. The main Stamps category also holds other subcategories devoted to specific historical periods, such as Italian States stamps and Italian Colonies stamps.