Despite being the smallest independent state in the world, Vatican City has its own post office and postal service. The postal service was originally set up for the clergy within Vatican City who wish to send and receive mail and packages, but today it is mainly tourists who make full use of the postal service of Vatican City to send a postcard home with a Vatican City stamp and postmark on it. This way, you naturally have an ideal memento of your city trip to Rome.
The Vatican post office, or Poste Vaticane as the Italians call it, is part of the Ministry of Telecommunications of the government of Vatican City. The postal service of Vatican City has the reputation of working faster than that of the Italian post, while the price of stamps is comparable. It is even the case that many Romans come to Vatican City when they need to send important mail to make sure that it arrives safely and on time.
Vatican mailboxes
You can find the post office of Poste Vaticane at St. Peter’s Square and in the Vatican Museums. There is also often a special Vatican Post truck on St. Peter’s Square where you can post your letters and buy your special Vatican stamps.
Want to send a letter or postcard? You can drop it off in one of the many yellow mailboxes of Poste Vaticane found all over Vatican City. There is even one in St. Peter’s Basilica, and atop the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica, if you climb the dome, you’ll find another one.
Note that Vatican stamps are not valid outside Vatican City. If you buy stamps at one of the post offices or souvenir shops, for example, in the Vatican Museum or St. Peter’s Basilica, your mail must also be posted within the walls of Vatican City in the yellow mailboxes labeled “Poste Vaticane.” You can also post your mail at the post office in Vatican City. So, you cannot drop off your mail with a Vatican stamp in one of the red mailboxes in Rome.
Stamps Vatican City
For years, enthusiasts and stamp collectors have been coming to Vatican City to buy stamps, postcards, and envelopes from the official post office of the world’s smallest independent state. During the peak season, there is often a long line at the post office in Vatican City where normal and special Vatican stamps are available for purchase. The interior of the post office is very beautiful, so even if you’re not a fan of stamps, you shouldn’t miss a visit to the Vatican City post office. Unfortunately, photography is not allowed inside the beautiful post office, so you cannot capture your visit to the post office on camera.
Due to overcrowding at the post office on St. Peter’s Square on some days, a special trailer from Poste Vaticane has been set up on St. Peter’s Square where you can also buy stamps and cards and send mail.
Stamps from commercial postal services (GPS)
Be aware that if you buy postcards outside Vatican City to send home, you not receive stamps from a commercial postal service. Always ask for stamps from Poste Italiane to ensure that your mail arrives on time. Experiences with commercial postal services such as Global Postal Service (GPS) are not always positive.
A common complaint is that you can hardly find a place to post your mail because mail with GPS stamps/stickers can only be posted in GPS’s yellow mailboxes, which are scarce in some areas of Rome. Only kiosks selling GPS stamps have such mailboxes. Mail with a GPS stamp cannot be posted in the regular red mailboxes of Poste Italiane or Poste Vaticane. If you do so, there is a high chance that your mail will never reach its destination. Another common complaint about commercial postal services such as GPS is that the mail takes a very long time to arrive. While Poste Italiane is not known for its speedy handling of mail, according to many complaints on platforms like TripAdvisor, mail sent via GPS takes more than 4 weeks to be delivered abroad.
