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Royal Visit of King Victor Emmanuele III to Somalia - 11.8 lira

This stamp was issued in 1935 by the Italian colonial administration in Italian Somaliland (Somalia Italiana) as part of a semi-postal series commemorating the Visit of King Victor Emmanuel III to Somalia (Visita del Re in late 1934). Printed by the Italian State Printing Office (Istituto Poligrafico dello Stato in Rome), the design depicts King Victor Emmanuel III standing in military uniform overlooking a landscape view of Mogadishu, alongside the Savoy coat of arms and the fascist calendar year inscription 1934 A. XIII. The issue held significant political and imperial propaganda value for Fascist Italy under Benito Mussolini. Victor Emmanuel III's official visit to the Horn of Africa in late 1934 was staged to project Italian sovereignty, inspect colonial military forces, and solidify control over the territory. Issued just months before Italy launched its invasion of Ethiopia in October 1935 which merged Italian Somaliland, Eritrea, and Ethiopia into Italian East Africa (Africa Orientale Italiana)—the stamp set served as both a royal commemoration and a fundraising mechanism, with the surcharge value (+7½ c.) allocated to colonial welfare and regime initiatives.