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Coastline - 25 centesimo

This blue and orange 25-centesimi airmail stamp ("POSTA AEREA") was issued in 1934 to promote the 2nd International Exposition of Colonial Art ("IIª Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Coloniale"), hosted in Naples, Italy. Designed by artist Umberto Rondini, the graphic vignette contrasts a traditional Somali figure walking along a rocky, palm-fringed tropical coastline with a modern monoplane flying overhead. The composition purposefully juxtaposes regional coastal geography with contemporary Italian aviation infrastructure. Natively inscribed for Somalia Italiana and featuring bilingual value panels at the base ("Cent. 25"), this issue highlighted the expansion of the imperial air postal network connecting the Mediterranean center with the Horn of Africa.