Dr. Emilio Diena (January 26, 1860 – October 9, 1941), was an Italian philatelist who specialized in the postage stamps of Italy and published substantial research on the subject. He was probably the best known Continental philatelist of his generation.[1]
Philately is the study of stamps and postal history and other related items. It also refers to the collection, appreciation and research activities on stamps and other philatelic products. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting, which does not necessarily involve the study of stamps. It is possible to be a philatelist without owning any stamps. For instance, the stamps being studied may be very rare, or reside only in museums.
Diena collected and studied classic and rare postage stamps and postal history of Italy as well as the Italian states which issued their own postage stamps prior to Italian unification in the 19th century.
Italian unification, or the Risorgimento, was the political and social movement that consolidated different states of the Italian peninsula into the single state of the Kingdom of Italy in the 19th century. The process began in 1815 with the Congress of Vienna and was completed in 1871 when Rome became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy.
Philatelic literature
The cover of Diena's I Francobolli del Regno di Napoli, Milan, 1932.
Diena accumulated a large library of Italian-related philatelic literature which is still maintained by his family today in Rome, Italy. He became an expert on Italian stamps and in addition to expertizing rare stamps of the classic period of Italy, wrote extensively on the subject.
In addition to writing numerous articles in philatelic journals, Diena wrote in great detail on stamps of Modena, Romagna, Sicily, Parma, and Naples during the 1920s and 1930s.
Modena is a city and comune (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy.
Romagna is an Italian historical region that approximately corresponds to the south-eastern portion of present-day Emilia-Romagna, North Italy. Traditionally, it is limited by the Apennines to the south-west, the Adriatic to the east, and the rivers Reno and Sillaro to the north and west. The region's major cities include Cesena, Faenza, Forlì, Imola, Ravenna, Rimini and City of San Marino. The region has been recently formally expanded with the transfer of seven comuni from the Marche region, which are a small number of comuni where Romagnolo dialect is spoken.
Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 20 regions of Italy. It is one of the five Italian autonomous regions, in Southern Italy along with surrounding minor islands, officially referred to as Regione Siciliana.
Philatelic activity
Dr. Diena often served as a judge on matters related to rare stamps of Italy as well as the Italian states which issued their own postage stamps prior to Italian unification in the 19th century. These included Modena, Romagna, Sicily, Naples and Parma[1] He was a fellow of the Royal Philatelic Society, London, and served on numerous international philatelic juries.
The Roll of Distinguished Philatelists (RDP) is a philatelic award of international scale, created by the Philatelic Congress of Great Britain in 1921. The Roll consists of three pieces of parchment to which the signatories add their names.
The Lindenberg Medal is an award given to those who provide “conspicuous service to philately” because of their investigations and contributions to philatelic literature.
The Crawford Medal is a vermeil medal awarded by the Royal Philatelic Society London for the most valuable and original contribution to the study and knowledge of philately published in book form during the relevant period.
Legacy
Diena died at Rome, aged 82 years, in 1941. The Diena family continued his work in Italian philately. Dr. Enzo Diena, the grandson of Dr. Emilio Diena, was named to the American Philatelic Society Hall of Fame in 2001.
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