After

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the city of Fiume (now Rijeka,

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

) was claimed by both the

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. While its status was unresolved, its postal system was operated by a variety of occupation forces and local governments.

Allied Occupation

An international force of British and French troops took over the city between 17 November 1918 and 12 September 1919.Michel Europa-Katalog, West, 1989-90, FIUME ''Interalliertes Besetzungsgebiet''. Stamp Fiume 1919 2c Fiume

Francobollo di Fiume - 5 cent - 1919 - serie pro Fondazione Studio sovrastampato

The first

postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the f ...

s for Fiume were issued 1 December 1918 by the Italian National Council which governed the city. They were produced by

overprint An overprint is an additional layer of text or graphics added to the face of a Postage stamp, postage or revenue stamp, postal stationery, banknote or Ticket (admission), ticket after it has been Printing, printed. Post offices most often use ...

ing “FIUME” on the contemporary stamps of

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

. Both handstamping and printing presses were used. In January 1919, two postage due and a savings bank stamp were surcharged as well. These stamps—even the most common values—were extensively forged. Serious collectors will require close examination of all stamps. January also saw the first appearance of an issue produced specifically for Fiume. It consisted of 17 values, ranging from 2 centesimi to 10 corone, and used four designs: a figure representing “Italy”, the town clock tower with an Italian flag hanging from it, an allegory of “Revolution”, and a sailor raising the Italian flag. The first printings were inscribed just “FIUME”, while in July they were redesigned with the inscription “POSTA FIUME”, along with other minor changes. Meanwhile, a set of 12

semi-postal stamp A semi-postal stamp or semipostal stamp, also known as a charity stamp, is a postage stamp issued to raise money for a particular purpose (such as a charitable cause) and sold at a premium over the postal value. Typically the stamp shows two deno ...

s was issued 18 May, commemorating the 200th day of peace since the end of the war. Later in 1919 the higher values were surcharged with lower values, and the semi-postals were overprinted “Valore globale” for use as regular stamps.

The Regency of Carnaro

This confusing situation was exploited by the Italian poet Gabriele d'Annunzio, who entered the city on 12 September 1919 and began a 15-month period of occupation. On 8 September 1920, d'Annunzio established the

Italian Regency of Carnaro The Italian Regency of Carnaro ( it, Reggenza Italiana del Carnaro), also known in Italian as (), was a self-proclaimed state in the city of Fiume (now Rijeka, Croatia) led by Gabriele d'Annunzio between 1919 and 1920. ''Impresa di Fiume'' ...

in Fiume. On 12 September, 1920, the first anniversary of the city’s takeover by the forces of Gabriele d’Annunzio, the city government issued a series of 14 values featuring a portrait bust of d’Annunzio, intended for regular use. A set of four with various allegorical designs was issued, intended for the use of the legionnaires on that day only. On 18 November, the set of four of 12 September were overprinted “ARBE” and “VEGLIA”, marking the occupation of the islands of

Arbe Rab �âːb( dlm, Arba, la, Arba, it, Arbe, german: Arbey) is an island in the northern Dalmatia region in Croatia, located just off the northern Croatian coast in the Adriatic Sea. The island is long, has an area of and 9,328 inhabitants (2 ...

and Veglia, and on 20 November, more were overprinted “Reggenza / Italiana / del / Carnaro” (Italian Regency of Carnaro), and with new values. File:Stamp Fiume 1920 25c Annunzio.jpg, Gabriele d’Annunzio, 1920 File:MilitaryStampFiume1920Michel1.jpg, A dagger severing the Gordian Knot File:MilitaryStampVeglia(Fiume)1920Michel30.jpg, Stamp overprinted “Reggenza / Italiana / del / Carnaro”

Free State of Fiume

In January 1921, Italian troops put an end to d’Annunzio’s rule, and the subsequent provisional government overprinted the d’Annunzio heads with “Governo / Provvisorio”. On 24 April 1921, the 1st constituent assembly of the Free State overprinted the semi-postals of 1919 with “24 - IV - 1921” and “Costituente Fiumana”. The following year the 2nd assembly added a “1922” to the overprints. On 23 March, 1923 a new issue put an end to the flurry of overprints. Its 12 values, inscribed “Posta di Fiume”, used four designs, a Venetian sailing ship, a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

arch, St. Vitus, and a

rostral column A rostral column is a type of victory column originating in ancient Greece and Rome, where they were erected to commemorate a naval military victory. Its defining characteristic is the integrated prows or rams of ships, representing captured ...

, all printed over a buff-colored background. After the Treaty of Rome assigned Fiume to Italy (27 January), these stamps were overprinted “REGNO / D’ITALIA” (Kingdom of Italy) on 22 February and then “ANNESSIONE / ALL’ITALIA” (Annexation by Great-Italy) on 1 March. Subsequently Fiume used the stamps of Italy. File:StampFiume(Italy)1924Michel184.jpg, Stamp overprinted “REGNO / D’ITALIA” File:Fiume 1924 MiNr0168 mt B002a.jpg, Stamp overprinted "ANNESSIONE / ALL'ITALIA"

References and Sources

* Stanley Gibbons Ltd: various catalogues
Encyclopaedia of Postal Authorities
* Rossiter, Stuart & John Flower. ''The Stamp Atlas''. London: Macdonald, 1986. *

Scott catalog The Scott catalogue of postage stamps, published by Scott Publishing Company, now a subsidiary of Amos Media, is updated annually and lists all the stamps of the world that its editors recognize as issued for postal purposes. It is published in f ...

Allied Occupation

The Regency of Carnaro

Free State of Fiume

See also

References and Sources

Further reading