Malta

Malta stamps, available worldwide at Io Collezionista. The island, a member of the European Union since 2004 and of the Commonwealth, lies just 80 km from the coast of Sicily and keeps close cultural ties with Italy to this day: Italian, the official language until the first half of the 1930s, is spoken correctly by almost two thirds of the population. The stamps in this category point unmistakably to the island's British past, a protectorate from 1802 to 1814 and part of the Empire immediately afterwards, and many items carry the effigy of George V (Malta Stamps 1860/1922), while others mark events such as the visit of Pope John Paul II and the Italia 90 football World Cup, in Malta Stamps 1982/1999.