The XXXI edition of Milanofil opens under the sign of innovation, the most important national philatelic showcase, inaugurated today in Milan by the President of Poste Italiane, Maria Bianca Farina. Milanofil 2018 in fact expands its borders to dialogue with all the souls of collecting and becomes the International Exhibition of stamps and art collecting, opening the doors to numismatics, comics, historic cars and vinyl records.
This new formula entrusts Milanofil with an ambitious mission: to speak to an ever younger and vaster audience, broadening the horizons of the traditional philatelic event to all the different worlds of collecting. A Milanofil 2.0 that will allow the participants of the Milanese event to cross their interests and their passions, to dialogue in the name of love for research and the pleasure of collecting valuable objects.
This year's novelties also start from the exhibition space. Milanofil 2018 moves in a completely new container: Superstudio Più in via Tortona 27 in the international fashion, design and creativity district. An area of almost 5.000 square meters, with four connected pavilions, houses the stands of the major Italian philatelic dealers and those dedicated to numismatics, comics and vinyl; an important area will also be the exhibition of historic cars.
As always, Poste Italiane will give collectors the opportunity to admire prestigious philatelic products and the most recent issues, with many surprises and thematic corners. Science will also be discussed with the Astrophilately Exhibition, enlivened by the presence of an astronaut, and sports with the award ceremony of the first edition of the competition for the most beautiful European postage stamp dedicated to sports.
The flagship philatelic product presented at Milanofil will be a new "Leonardesca" folder, which contains the four forever stamps issued in 2015, four subjects that reproduce details of the Vitruvian Man, the Aerial Screw, taken from the Manuscript on flying machines, the Ala mechanics and of the giant crossbow, contained in the Codex Atlanticus. To these are added four unpublished philatelic cards. The folder will have a limited edition of only 3.000 copies and will be available exclusively at Milanofil and online on the Poste Italiane website at a cost of 40 euros. Other special folders for collectors have been created by Poste Italiane and will be presented at Milanofil to celebrate historical dates, events and personalities from numismatics, comics and music.
The major operators in the sector and the Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato will be present in the numismatics exhibition area, which will take care of both an educational space to introduce visitors to some techniques of the coin minting process, and an event aimed at students of two classes of art institutes designed to make people understand the process of designing, processing and creating a postage stamp.
The legendary Jaguar E-type, piloted by Diabolik in his adventures, will be one of the most exciting attractions in the comic area. Milanofil dedicates a space entirely reserved to Alan Ford and another edited by the Panini publishing house which, alongside the famous stickers, has been publishing for years the stories of characters such as Mickey Mouse, dear to children of all ages. The presence of the sector dedicated to
comics underlines Poste Italiane's desire to get closer to the world of comics, a process that has already begun with participation in the most important trade fairs in the sector, first of all Romics (which this year will take place in Rome from 5 to 8 April), and with ever closer collaboration with publishing houses for new publications and products.
The most important collectors houses in the sector will be present in the stand dedicated to vinyl. Also in this case, a union will be created between collectors: in fact, the folders made with the recently issued stamps dedicated to Domenico Modugno and Mia Martini will be presented, faithfully reproducing the cover format of a 45 rpm record. With these two folders, a new philatelic product is born, designed for both philatelic and music enthusiasts, which will be re-proposed at concerts or events to commemorate famous songs.
The exhibition of historic cars will occupy an entire pavilion; among the cars on display, those from the Bertone Carrozzeria Collection owned by the Automotoclub Storico Italiano and the selection of historic cars from CMAE, the Milanese Vintage Car Club, stand out. Of particular prestige is the product designed for this section: the book "Stamps on the Road", which combines two apparently distant passions, the automotive and the philatelic one, demonstrating how transversal stamps are to every form of collecting.
There will also be the usual appointments organized by philatelic associations, important moments of discussion and exchange between philately enthusiasts and initiatives dedicated to thematic stamp collecting.
