Europa Visit stamps from the Vatican Post Office

The Vatican Post Office has issued details of two stamps issued on the Europa 2012 theme 'visit...' The two 0.75 euro values feature the dome of St Peter's Basilica, one of the most recognisable places of Christian worship in the world, and a stained glass window from the interior of the Basilica, featuring the Holy Spirit.

The Europa 2012 theme challenged member countries to issue stamps on the Visit theme, with the freedom to interpret the theme individually, highlighting subjects such as history, archaeology and heritage. In selecting St Peter's Basilica, the Vatican Post Office has chosen a tourist attraction which draws millions of visitors each year, for both cultural and religious reasons. The Basilica was completed in 1626, on the site of a fourth century AD church - and the supposed burial site of St Peter. It has the largest interior of any Christian church in the world.

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