On May 20, 1944 Campione began to use its own stamps. During World War II, the exclave was cut off from Axis Italy by neutral Swiss territory, so it issued and used these very unique stamps under authorization it received from the Italian legation in Bern, Switzerland. They were issued in Swiss currency (Francs and Rappen). Oddly, they remained valid long after the war ended, through the 31st of May 1952 .
Since the stamps became invalid, Swiss stamps have been sold in Campione's Italian post office for mail addressed to Switzerland (which is cancelled across the lake at the Swiss post office in Lugano) and Italian stamps are sold for use on mail going everywhere else. This enclave of Switzerland has developed to where it is now a tax haven for tychoons, sporting multimillion dollar villas and a casino (otherwise illegal inside Switzerland) that rivals the richness of those in Monte Carlo.
Four of the stamps in the set of seven pictorial stamps shown below
(the 5, 10, 20 and 30 Rappen values) illustrate scenes of the town from
the 1940s and the Italian portion of the lake. About a third of the
exclave is submerged! The 5 rappen green shows a view over the lake
looking south and the 30 rappen blue shows the view to the north.
To order, just Email one of the Campione postcards
below by clicking your mouse on one.
I'll reply to make payment and shipping arrangements.
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