Issue date: 18 May, 2015
COMMEMORATIVE STAMPS
A new stamp from the Commemorative series marks the “Seven hundredth anniversary of worshipping La Virgen del Mar”, the patron saint of Santander who is revered throughout the city.
The Virgen del Mar icon is a Gothic statue from the late 13th or early 14th century which retains the iconographic tradition of the Romanesque period. It is 55 cm tall and features the Blessed Virgin sitting on a low bench with the Christ Child seated on her knees in the centre. It is carved from a single piece of wood. It has been restored twice: by sculptor Manuel Cacicedo in 1956 and by the Rocío Espejo Studio in 1993. The statue is draped in a red velvet cloak with gold brocade, which was a gift from Queen Isabel II following her visit to the shrine in 1861.
According to tradition, the icon appeared floating on a plank among the coastal rocks, which is why it could have been a statue like the ones kept on-board ships as protection, known as the “Patroness of the Galleons”. These statues were mounted to ships using a rod and it is thought that this one could be a remain from a shipwreck.
The devotion to this statue dates back to 1315, but it wasn't until the end of the 14th century that Gonzalo Fernández de Pámanes, a member of one of Santander's six original families, founded the La Virgen del Mar shrine. The shrine is located in San Román de la Llanilla, an island close to the city of Santander to which there is a pilgrimage each year. The festival day is celebrated on the Monday following Whit Sunday, which is 51 days after Easter Sunday.
Passion for La Virgen del Mar dates back seven centuries in the Cantabrian city and people went to her seeking protection for villagers and sailors following severe storms, droughts, fires, catastrophes or the terrible plagues that ravaged Santander in the 16th century.
In 1994 the Brotherhood of La Virgen del Mar was founded, heir to the one that existed in 1489, to help keep the devotion to and tradition of the Blessed Virgin alive.
Rate A - €0.75. For a “standard” letter or postcard within Spain, up to 20 g.
Rate A2 - €0.85. For a “standard” letter or postcard within Spain, between 20 g and 50 g.
Rate B - €1.65. For a “standard” Ordinary International letter or postcard addressed to Europe (including Greenland), up to 20 g.
Rate C - €1.75. For a “standard” Ordinary International letter or postcard addressed to the rest of the world (except USA, Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand), up to 20 g.
Rate D - €2.10. For a “standard” Ordinary International letter or postcard addressed to the USA, Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, up to 20 g.