Want to send a postcard? Use the Vatican Postal service instead of the Italian one

The Vatican’s postal service is described as one of the world’s best, with more letters sent each year from its post code than anywhere else in the world, according to the Universal Postal Union. Many Romans, infact, prefer to go near Saint Peter every week to post their letters and documents from the Vatican’s post office instead of Italy’s less reliable national postal service. The Vatican's postal code is 00120.

The Vatican's post office was established on the 11th February 1929 and it has continued to offer its own postal services ever since then. The first equipment the post office used was donated by the Italian government. First, the Vatican's post office services were only provided within the Vatican City. But the services expanded and it became possible to start sending mail throughout Rome, after the Vatican City had became a member of the Universal Postal Union on the 1st of June 1929 and signed a postal agreement with Italy on the 29th of July of the same year. The official stamps of Vatican City are produced under the authority of the Philatelic and Numismatic Office of the Vatican City State.

Do you still use "snail mail?" even if you do, a postcard with a Vatican stamp can be more sophisticated and cool :) . The Vatican’s Post Office is open to everyone who wishes to send mail both within and outside Vatican City. The office is open during most part of the days and also depending on the season. During winter season, the opening hours of the Vatican Post Office are from 8:00 a.m. to 6:45 p.m.; Monday to Friday and from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.; Saturday. During summer season, the opening hours are from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.; Monday to Saturday. The office remains closed on Sundays. The Vatican's post office also has its branches in St. Peters Square and in the Vatican Museums.

It costs €2.30 to send a postcard or standard letter from Italy to the United States or Canada (or anywhere else in the Americas; also to Africa or Asia); 1 to send letters and postcards from Italy to Europe and the UK; and €3 to send letters from Italy to Australia or New Zealand. To send a postcard from a city in Italy to another city in Italy it will cost €0,95.

DO you still want to send a postcard with the Italian mail system? Well, There really is quite little to say about the Italian postal service mail, except that you should call it "la posta."

You can get stamps (francobolli) not only at post offices, but at most tabacchi (tobacconists—any shop marked with a white-on-brown "T" sign), and many newsstands.

If you're in a major city or touristy area, they'll all know just exactly how much it'll cost you to send a postcard or letter to your home country. Just hold us your five postcards and say: "To USA?" (or wherever).

How much does it cost to mail a postcard or letter from Italy?

Italian and Vatican postal services cost exactly the same.

How long it'll take the get there, on the other hand, is a different story.

Though things are a lot better than they were even ten years ago, when it wasn't uncommon for mail from Italy to America to take six weeks, the post can still be mighty slow, especially to our modern culture increasingly conditioned to the near instantaneous satisfaction that e-mail can provide.

Figure on letters and postcards sent from Italy to take 3–5 days at best, a week or two on average.

How can I receive mail in Italy?

If you need to receive mail in Italy, have it sent to any local post office in Italy (find addresses at www.poste.it) addressed to your name followed by the words "FERMOPOSTA." They'll hold it at the main post office in town for up to 30 days (then send it back if unclaimed); you'll have to pay a small fee to pick it up.

To send postcards and letter you can even use the typical Italian red mailbox, that you can find outside post offices and tabacchi. The mailbox has two holes, the slot on the left says "Per la città" (for the city), the slot on the right says "Per tutte le altre destinazioni" (for all other destinations). Unless you happen to have a friend in Rome, you always want to use the slot on the right.