Issue date: 29 May, 2020
12 MONTHS, 12 STAMPS. Ciudad Real
Nature, gastronomy, art and literature are just some of the treasures in Ciudad Real province and which form the design for the stamp for May in the “12 months, 12 stamps” series.
Nature is represented by the Las Tablas de Daimiel National Park, the last example of the tablas fluviales ecosystem, which is currently one of the most prominent wetlands in Europe.
Modelling the province’s initials, gastronomy is depicted in the form of Manchego cheese and a wine glass, representing the various denominations of origin in the province, such as DO La Mancha, Valdepeñas, Pago Casa del Blanco, Dehesa del Carrizal and Pago Florentino.
The typical sacred and secular architecture of the region is represented by the dome atop the tower of Santa María del Prado de Ciudad Real cathedral and a windmill in Campo de Criptana.
Ciudad Real cathedral, built on a 13th century chapel of which the Puerta del Perdón (Forgiveness Door) and a rose window are all that is left, has held the title of priory for the military orders of Calatrava, Montesa, Alcántara and Santiago since 1875, granted by the papal bull from Pius IX.
The windmills adorning the landscape in Campo de Criptana are one of the icons of Castile-La Mancha in Spain, and even for Spain in the world, because of the brilliant work by Miguel de Cervantes locating Don Quixote’s famous tilting at the giants there.
Next to the second initial, Don Quixote de la Mancha’s famous helmet appears - the barber's basin where the ingenious knight believed he saw the enchanted Mambrino Helmet and that Cervantes himself, in the voice of Sancho Panza, called the baciyelmo.
The province’s literary facet moves on from Cervantes’ work and acquires scenic touches in the town of Almagro, represented by one of the glassed-in galleries in its main square. Its 17th century open air theatre is the oldest in Europe and is still in use four hundred years after it opened.
The stripe at the bottom embodies the colour of the provincial flag.
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.