JULY-AUGUST 2017 Issue # 440 … Return to Earth ! On 2 June 2017 FRANCE issued a special souvenir booklet of four self-adhesive stamps to cel- ebrate the return to earth of Eu- ropean Space Agency (ESA) as- tronaut Thomas Pesquet. His six- month mission — which he named Proxima — was conduct- ed on the International Space Station to maintain the weight- less research laboratory and run scientific experiments for hun- dreds of researchers on Earth. Proxima is the ninth long- duration mission for an ESA as- tronaut and was named after the closest star to the Sun – continu- ing a tradition of naming mis- sions with French astronauts af- ter stars and constellations. Pesquet left Baikonur cosmo- drome in Kazakhstan on a Soyuz rocket with NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson and commander -cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky on 17 November 2016. He returned to earth on 2 June. JULY-AUGUST 2017 440-2 v = value(s) New Issues ms= mini-sheet ss = souvenir sheet Europa 2017 "Castles" MALTA 2v ITALY 2v VATICAN CITY 2v Issue date 9 May 2017 Issue date 9 May 2017 Issue date 4 May 2017 The Doria Castle is shown tow- ering over the village of Dolce- acqua; in the foreground is Pon- te Vecchio on the Nervia. Origi- nally the structure was made in the 12th century; it was enlarged in the sixteenth century by the The first stamp features the St then Local Stefano Doria. The €0,95 stamp features a fa- Agatha Tower, also known as In 1942 the castle became prop- cade of the papal palace in Cas- the Red Tower, built in 1647 erty of the City of Dolceacqua. tel Gandolfo where the Vatican during the reign of Grand Mas- Observatory telescope can be ter Lascaris de Castellar. It was seen. The palace originally be- painted red so it could be easily longed to the Gandolfi family visible from far away. In 2015, from which the modern day the Tower was awarded a Certifi- town in Latium takes its name. It cate of Excellence by the popu- became a patrimony of the Holy lar travel website, TripAdvisor. See under the pontificate of Clement VII. The second stamp depicts the Gourgion Tower in Xewkija, It was traditionally used by the The Scaliger Castle in Malcesine, Gozo which was built in 1690. popes as a place for vacation up as seen from the lake Garda. The Legend has it that on its site the until the beginning of the 1600s fortress of Malcesine dates back people of Gozo heard St Paul when Urban VIII made it his to the last centuries of the first preaching from as far as Malta summer residence. Pope Francis, millenium BC. The castle was de- following his shipwreck in AD 60. the only one not to have vaca- stroyed by the Franks in 590 AD For two and a half centuries, the tioned there, decided to allow and then rebuilt. In 1902 the building served as a fortress public access to the building by castle was declared a national against pirate attacks. transforming it into a museum. monument. It is a popular site The €1,00 stamp depicts the Pal- Unfortunately, it was demolished for weddings. in 1943 to make way for an air- — from Poste Italiane and local websites ace of the Belvedere, currently field that was considered neces- part of the Vatican Museums, built by Innocent VIII (1484- sary for the Allied invasion of Sicily. Ironically, the airfield was The 2016 Handbook Update is 1492) and located at the far only used just once. While the attached to this issue and avail- northern part of the Vatican hill. Allied Forces had offered to re- able on our website. Michel The stamp shows part of the fa- build it or compensate financial- numbers will be added and cade with its characteristic basti- ly, the owners chose the latter. posted to the website over the ons adorned with decorations of — from Malta Post summer. vases. — from the Vatican City State website JULY-AUGUST 2017 440-3 v = value(s) New Issues ms= mini-sheet ss = souvenir sheet Europa 2017 "Castles" ESTONIA 2v LATVIA 2v LITHUANIA 2v Issue date 8 May 2017 Issue date 21 April 2017 Issue date 29 April 2017 The Castle of Keila - Joa was Cesvaine Palace was built in The Castle of Biržai was con- one of the first neo-Gothic style 1896 for the German baron Emil structed around 1586 on the buildings in Estonia. The flat roof von Wulf. It is built in the late southern shore of Lake Širvėna. two story building is character- Tudor Neo-Renaissance style. This is the only bastion-type for- ized by lancet arch windows and Picturesque frames, towers and tress in Lithuania, which is also a tower with a crenelated balus- turrets of different forms and one of the best preserved in trade in the back corner of the sizes, high decorative chimneys northern-eastern Europe. At pre- building. The manor house com- and steep roofs were all charac- sent, the palace of the castle plex was built in 1833. teristic features of the style. In houses the Biržai regional muse- 2002 the palace suffered heavily um “Sėla” and a town library. in a fire and restoration work has been slow. The Maarjamäe summer estate that lies on the eastern coast of The castle of Klaipėda was first the Tallinn Bay was probably mentioned in 1252 – in a docu- completed in 1874. The most Bauska Castle is a complex con- ment whereby the master of the remarkable part of the historicist sisting of the ruins of an earli- German Order and the bishop of main building is its tower that is er castle and a later palace on Kuršas agreed on the construc- pseudo-Gothic in form, quad- the outskirts of the Latvian city tion of a castle between the riv- rangular at the base and octago- of Bauska. In 1706, during ers Nemunas and Danė. The cas- nal at the top. Above the spec- the Great Northern War, both tle was called Memelburg. For tacular portal that vivifies the castle and palace were blown up many centuries, the castle suf- facade has been fastened the by the retreating Russians and fered from aggressive attacks, arms of Orlov - Davõdovs with left unrestored. Only ruins re- was burned, destroyed and re- the motto Fortitudine et Con- main from the seat of the Livoni- constructed again. stantia (Fortitude and Constancy) an order; the palace, however, is Currently, the site of the castle — from Eesti Post fully restored and can be visited houses a museum. In the muse- daily during the summer um of the castle, visitors can months. Bookmark our website at walk on the oldest pavement of — from Wikipedia www.europastudyunit.org Klaipėda, which was laid in the so it’s only a click away ! 16th century. — from Lithuania Post JULY-AUGUST 2017 440-4 v = value(s) New Issues ms= mini-sheet ss = souvenir sheet Europa 2017 "Castles" PORTUGAL 1v + ss of 2v The Castle of Almourol (top Issue date 9 May 2017 stamp and single value) may ac- tually trace its roots back to the 1st century BC, having been re- modeled over the centuries by the Alans, Visigoths and Moors. Today, it is one of the more em- blematic medieval military monu- ments of the Reconquista, and best representation of the influ- ence of the Knights Templar in Portugal. The Fortress of Marvão (lower stamp) is a well-preserved medi- eval castle that post-dates the year 1299. It is actually two encir- cled courtyards, displaying nu- merous characteristic features of a crusader-era castle. In 2013, the Cultural Centre of Marvão re- ceived the concession to manage and operate the castle. — from Wikipedia PORTUGAL—AZORES 1v + ss of 2v The Fort of São Brás (top stamp Issue date 9 May 2017 and single value) is a 17th- century maritime fort situated on the southern cliffs of the island of Santa Maria. The interior mon- ument was inaugurated on 4 Oc- tober 1929, and renovations have occurred on an irregular basis. The municipal council eventually ceded the site to the Santa Maria Motorcycle Club. The Fortress of São João Baptista (lower stamp) also known as the Fort of São Filipe, is a histor- ic fortress and defensive emplace- ment, located on the Portuguese island of Terceira. The fort was erected after the conquest of Ter- ceira by the Spanish military, as a consequence of the events relat- ed to the Iberian Union (1580– 1640). — from Wikipedia JULY-AUGUST 2017 440-5 v = value(s) New Issues ms= mini-sheet ss = souvenir sheet Europa 2017 "Castles" PORTUGAL—MADEIRA 1v + ss of 2v The Fortress of Sao Tiago, i.e. Issue date 9 May 2017 Santiago Fort (top stamp and sin- gle value) was built in 1614 to protect Funchal Island from the corsairs. In 1767 it was enlarged and exclusively served military purposes until 1992, when Madei- ra’s Regional Government decid- ed to use it for cultural activities. The São João Baptista Fort is a replica of a previous fort dating from 1730, built to protect the town from the attacks and pillag- ing by pirates that were common at the time. In 1998 the Town Hall of Porto Moniz acquired the ruins of the Fort. The restoration started two years later, with the admin- istration not only preserving what was left of the former exterior walls, but also reusing the existing stones, restoring them to their original form. — from Madeira-web.com POLAND 1v GREECE 2v se-tenant Issue date 5 May 2017 Also in booklets with 2 sets (straight edges on horizontal sides) Issue date 18 May 2017 Pieskowa Skała castle was erected in the first half of the 14th centu- Palamidi ((left hand stamp) is a fortress in the Peloponnese region ry as part of the chain of fortified of southern Greece.