Postal agreements prior to the General Postal Union/Universal Postal Union in 1875 were highly diverse, though they show increased uniformity over time from 1850 to 1875 in Europe. This post focuses on mail between Austria and Italy beginning in 1844. Last edited: Feb 16, 2019
Organization of this Post
- Postal Arrangements
- Austria/Tuscany Prepaid Rates
- Austria/Modena or Parma Prepaid Rates
- Austria to Italy Prepaid Rates
- Italy to Austria Prepaid Rates
- Border Crossings
- Open Questions
- Resources and Links
The situation between Austria and Italy is made complex by several of factors. First and foremost, Lombardy and Venetia were under Austrian control until Lombardy was lost to Sardinia in 1859 as a result of the War of 1859. Venetia remained under Austrian control until October of 1866. Second, Italy was undergoing the process of unification from various Italian states to the Kingdom of Italy. Third, Austria was defeated in the Seven Weeks War in 1866 by Prussia. Italy's participation as Prussia's ally resulted in the loss of Venetia and temporary difficulties with the mails. Also, Austria converted its currency to a decimal system in 1857, this resulted in different values on the rate structures.
List of Conventions
As a first step towards getting a handle on this topic, I am aware of the following conventions within my period of interest:
- Austro-Sardinian Convention of 1844
- Austro-Tuscan Convention of 1851
- Austro-Modanese Convention of 1852
- Austro-Parmese Convention of 1852
- Austro-Papal Convention of 1852
- Austro-Sardinian Convention of 1854
- Austro-Italian Convention Renewal of Sardinian Convention - 1862
- Austro-Italian Convention of 1867
The German-Austrian Postal Union (DOPV) - 1850
Going into effect July 1, 1850, this agreement led to simplification of mails between the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Prussia (with other German states joining as well). One of the consequences was a change in letter mail weight measurement in Austria. The Vienna loth (or wienerlot) was roughly equivalent to 17.5 grams. The Prussians used the zoll loth that was equivalent to 15.625 grams. At the point of the agreement, the zoll loth became the official weight measurement for postal services in Austria. Since this post does not deal with postal services prior to 1850, the zoll loth was used for the agreements shown here except the 1844 agreement with Sardinia, should it be necessary to consider that one.
The Austro-Tuscan Convention of 1851
This was the first of a series of conventions Austria signed with Italian States in 1851 and 1852. It is interesting to note that Tuscany did NOT share a border with Austria.
The Austro-Parmese/Modanese Conventions of 1852
It seems that these two conventions are often mentioned in the same breath and the 1849 agreement that these three parties agree to a unified postal agreement clarifies why that might be the case. It seems that these rates are merely an extension of Austrian domestic rates that were calculated by a combined weight/distance progression.
The Austro-Papal Convention of 1852
There are multiple references in this convention towards the 'unified' postal agreement referenced for Parma and Modena. The Pontificate's agreement to join this group extended the postal agreement to all participants. As such, mail from the Papal States to Modena or Parma would be treated with the same rates. Of prime interest for a postal historian is the method of conversion to the papal monetary and weight systems.
The Austro-Sardinian Convention of 1854
This convention features a drop in rates by half and the weight per rate was doubled. Essentially, this caught Sardinia up with the other Italian States that had just negotiated treaties for mail. Sardinia did not join in the unified postal agreement that included Parma, Modena and the Roman States.
The following Italian States applied the Sardinian convention on the following dates:
Tuscany: Dec 1, 1859
Parma & Modena: Sep 1859
Two Sicilies: 1861 (guessing Oct 1)
Lombardy: Sep 1859
Venetia: Oct 1866 *
Papal States: Oct 1870 **
*After Lombardy was lost by Austria in 1859, mail from Venetia to/from Switzerland typically transited Sardinian territory.
** In 1860, all but Latium and some of the area nearby was taken by Sardinia / the newly developing Kingdom of Italy. Thus, the Marches, Romagne and Umbria were all subject to this convention around that time.
Austria's Currency Reform - 1857-1858 -
Austria's gulden was split into 60 kreuzer when this first set of conventions were put into effect. Currency reforms were undertaken to change this to 100 kruezer to the gulden. New stamps were issued by Austria on November 1, 1858 to mark this change in the postal services and rates were converted to the new currency standards at that time.
Period of Conflict - War of 1859 -
Beginning in April, 1859 various Italian States could only send mails via Switzerland as provisional governments were put in place in Parma, Modena and Tuscany. The War of 1859 resulted in the annexation of Lombardy by Sardinia. And, eventually, Parma, Modena, Tuscany and the Roman States of Marche, Emilia, Umbria and Sabina were all annexed into Sardinia (1860). Mails continued to be paid to the border via Switzerland until the 1862 convention was put in place on May 15.
The Austro-Italian Agreement of 1862
This was merely an affirmation that the prior agreement should be put back in place. There may be some adjustments made in the agreement based on border changes and, of course, the amounts for the rates were the post 1858 amounts.
The Austro-Italian Convention of 1867
Finally an agreement that disposes of the distance calculation to figure rates! It seems fairly clear that this is a direct result of the development of Italian rail resources during the mid-1860's. Once the lines to Brindisi and connections to Napoli and Roma were made, there was less need for the difference in rate unless one considered Messina, etc. Also important is the inclusion of Venetia on the Italian side of the fence rather than the Austrian.
Austria/Tuscany Prepaid Letter Rates
Tuscany did not share a border with Austria, relying on transit via Parma, Modena or the Papal States. There was the possibility for mail via steamship as well. Regardless, the distance was never going to fall below 10 meilen, hence that rate was not available for mail to Tuscany from Austria.
| Effective Date | Rate | Unit | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 1, 1851 | 6 kreuzer | 1 loth | 10-20 meilen (c) |
| "" | 9 kreuzer | 1 loth | 20+ meilen |
| Nov 1, 1858 | 10 kreuzer | 1 loth | 10-20 meilen |
| "" | 15 kreuzer | 1 loth | 20+ meilen |
| Apr 28, 1859 (a) | |||
| March, 1860 (b) |
(a) - prepay only to the border possible - mails via Switzerland
(b) - Kingdom of Italy rates at this time
(c) - 1 meilen is approx 7.5 km, so distances are 75-150 km and 150+ km
(c) - 1 meilen is approx 7.5 km, so distances are 75-150 km and 150+ km
9 kreuzer per loth 150+ km distance: Apr 1, 1851 - Oct 31, 1858
Vienna to Florence (~ 860 km)
 |
 Wien (Vienna) Mar 26, 1858 Firenze (Florence) Mar 2 , 1858 |
Austria to Modena/Parma Prepaid Letter Rates
For the time being, I will group Modena and Parma. If evidence tells me that I should separate them in the future, I will do so.
| Effective Date | Rate | Unit | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 1, 1852 | 3 kreuzer | 1 loth | up to 10 meilen |
| "" | 6 kreuzer | 1 loth | 10-20 meilen |
| "" | 9 kreuzer | 1 loth | 20+ meilen |
| Nov 1, 1858 |
5 kreuzer | 1 loth | up to 10 meilen |
| "" | 10 kreuzer | 1 loth | 10-20 meilen |
| "" | 15 kreuzer | 1 loth | 20+ meilen |
| June 11(?), 1859(a) | |||
| May 15, 1862 (b) |
(a) - prepay only to the border possible - mails via Switzerland
(b) - Kingdom of Italy rates at this time
(c) - 1 meilen is approx 7.5 km, so distances are up to 75km, 75-150 km and 150+ km
(c) - 1 meilen is approx 7.5 km, so distances are up to 75km, 75-150 km and 150+ km
15 kreuzer per loth 150+ km distance: Nov 1, 1858 - June 11, 1859
There was a fairly short period of time when the Austria/Modena rates with the new currency were in use prior to the creation of the provisional government in Modena during the War of 1859.
First example - Trieste to Modena (~340km)
 |
 via Modena Apr 2, 1859 |
Routing options may include a Northern route via Verona or a Southern via Bologna, though that would require transit through Papal territory. It is possible the convention spells this out, but it will take some time for me to translate the text to see. However, since all territories involved were part of the 'unified agreement' it would not have mattered whether it transited Papal territory or not.
Austria/Papal States Prepaid Letter Rates
The agreement between Austria and the Papal/Roman States used a combined weight and distance to determine the rate for a letter. Since the eastern Emilian province was under the control of the Pontificate and Venetia was under control of Austria, both states had a shared border, so no transit nation was necessary to exchange mail between the two during the 1852 to 1858 period. Things changed rapidly with the War of 1859 and the rapid movement to Italian unification.
| Direction | Rate | Unit | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austria to Papal States | 3 kreuzer/15 centesimi (a) | 1 loth | up to 75 km |
| "" | 6 kreuzer/30 centesimi | 1 loth | 75-150 km |
| "" | 9 kreuzer/45 centesimi | 1 loth | 150+ km |
| Papal States to Austria | 2 bajocchi | 15 denari | up to 75 km |
| "" | 5 bajocchi | 15 denari | 75-150 km |
| "" | 8 bajocchi | 15 denari | 150+ km |
(a) - kreuzer was the monetary unit for Austria, centesimi for Lombardy/Venetia
8 bajocchi per 15 denari 150+ km distance
Rome was about as far away from the border with Austria as you could get and Austria was also a significant distance from the border. In 1852, rail service was limited, so much of the carriage would have been by coach, likely following a route via the Semmering Pass in Austria.
1852 letter from Rome to Vienna
 |
 "franco" - "paid" Wien (Vienna) Dec 6 |
The docketing at the lower left of the cover has eluded me thus far. If someone reads this blog post and has a suggestion, I would be happy to hear it.
Transit via Papal States to Naples
There were agreements in place between the Two Sicilies and the Papal States to handle the transit of mail from nations-states from the north via Pontifical territories in order to reach the Neapolitan territory. These agreements did not accommodate the pre-payment of mail, but did require partial payment to the border. At this time, I still need to find, translate and read the agreements. I am not entirely certain how much pre-payment was required (to the Austria/Papal border or the Papal/Two Sicilies border). I am also not certain how the Papal postal services were compensated by the transit.
1856 letter from Venezia (Venice) to Napoli (Naples)
 |
 "19" - 19 grana due in Napoli Transito per lo Stato Pontif Napoli Apr 30, 1856 |
The collection of 19 grana in Napoli would seem to indicate that the Papal transit service would be paid by the postal agencies of the Two Sicilies.
Austria to Sardinia/Kingdom of Italy Prepaid Letter Rates
It seems that these conventions use the rayon (zone) system rather than a total distance model to determine the rate for mail.
| June 1, 1844 | Jan 1, 1854 | Nov 1, 1858(a) | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| N/A | 3 kreuzer | 5 kreuzer | < 30 km distance |
| 6 kreuzer | 6 kreuzer | 10 kreuzer | 1st Aus/1st Sard |
| 9 kreuzer | 9 kreuzer | 16 kreuzer | 2nd Aus/1st Sard |
| 15 kreuzer | 12 kreuzer | 21 kreuzer | 3rd Aus/1st Sard |
| 8 kreuzer | 9 kreuzer | 16 kreuzer | 1st Aus/2nd Sard |
| 12 kreuzer | 12 kreuzer | 21 kreuzer | 2nd Aus/2nd Sard |
| 18 kreuzer | 15 kreuzer | 26 kreuzer | 3rd Aus/2nd Sard |
| 10 kreuzer | N/A | N/A | 1st Aus/3rd Sard |
| 13 kreuzer | N/A | N/A | 2nd Aus/3rd Sard |
| 19 kreuzer | N/A | N/A | 3rd Aus/3rd Sard |
| per 1/2 wienerlot | per 1 loth | per 1 loth | |
| Year | Rate | Weight Unit | |
Apr 20, 1859 |
35 new Kr |
loth |
via Switzerland |
Sep 15, 1859 (b) |
|||
May 15, 1862 (c) |
|||
Oct 1, 1867 |
15 grams | N/A |
(a) -currency conversion to 100 kreuzer per gulden, same postal convention.
(b) - could pay the domestic rate to the border with remainder due
(c) - restore the 1854 convention, with 1858 new currency rate levels
16 kreuzer per loth Austria rayon II to Italy rayon I : May 15, 1862 - Sep 30, 1867
The conversion in 1858 for Sardinian rates did not calculate out to be an exact 3 old kreuzer to 5 new kreuzer ratio, unlike the results for internal mails in Austria and mail to Parma, Modena and Tuscany.
via Udine, Venice, Padova (~300km)
 |
 Bologna |
By 1867, the rail lines were well established and Venetia was now a part of the Kingdom of Italy. The line crossed from Austria to Italy at Cormons in Austria and following a route from Udine to Venice to Padova (and on to Bologna). Without clearer markings, we have to assume the most likely rail route to Bologna.
21 kreuzer per loth Austria rayon II to Italy rayon II : May 15, 1862 - Sep 30, 1867
via Ferrara, Bologna, Ancona and Foggia by Adriatic Coastal railway (~940km)
 |
 Ferrara Nov 5, 1865 Ancona ??? Molfetta Nov 7, 1865 |
The blurred backstamps make this cover a little harder to read, but the Ancona-Foggia docket tells us to look for those two locations as possibly having reason to provide a marking. It looks like it may be an Ancona marking with the "A" being visible. A second marking in the same location looks like it might be Foggia with "GGIA" being most visible. Foggia would not have been a port city, but it would have been on the rail line from Ancona.
| Effective Date | Rate | Unit | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 1, 1844 | 20 centes | 7.5 g | 1st Sard/1st Aus |
| "" | 35 centes | 7.5 g | 1st Sard/2nd Aus |
| "" | 60 centes | 7.5 g | 1st Sard/3rd Aus |
| "" | 30 centes | 7.5 g | 2nd Sard/1st Aus |
| "" | 45 centes | 7.5 g | 2nd Sard/2nd Aus |
| "" | 70 centes | 7.5 g | 2nd Sard/3rd Aus |
| "" | 40 centes | 7.5 g | 3rd Sard/1st Aus |
| "" | 55 centes | 7.5 g | 3rd Sard/2nd Aus |
| "" | 80 centes | 7.5 g | 3rd Sard/3rd Aus |
| Jan 1, 1854 |
10 centes | 15 g | < 30 km |
| "" | 25 centes | 15 g | 1st Sard/1st Aus |
| "" | 40 centes | 15 g | 1st Sard/2nd Aus |
| "" | 50 centes | 15 g | 1st Sard/3rd Aus |
| "" | 40 centes | 15 g | 2nd Sard/1st Aus |
| "" | 55 centes | 15 g | 2nd Sard/2nd Aus |
| "" | 65 centes | 15 g | 2nd Sard/3rd Aus |
| Apr 20, 1859 (a) | 60 centes | 10 g | via Switzerland |
| Sep 15, 1859 (b) | 20 centes | 10 g | to Italian border |
| May 15, 1862 | see 1854 rates | ||
| Apr 23, 1867 | 40 centes | 15 g | |
(a) -mail only available via Switzerland due to conflict
(b) - mail paid to border only, rest collected from recipient
(b) - mail paid to border only, rest collected from recipient
40 centesimi per 15 grams : Apr 23, 1867 - Dec 31, 1875 (?)
Distance based rates were done away with in the 1867 convention unless there was a border mail provision I have missed. This convention comes on the heals of Seven Weeks War and the loss of Venetia to Italy by treaty. At this point, the unification process in Italy is very nearly complete and rail service is much improved.
via Brenner or Semmerling Pass
 |
 Mar 10, 1869 Wien Mar 12, 1869 (verso) |
Unless there is something regarding the Torino marking that gives us a hint, there appears to be no way to determine if this item went via the Brenner Pass and Innsbruck or via Trieste and the Semmerling Pass on its way to Vienna. Perhaps certain branch offices (Ufc Succursale N.1) went via a given rail line? The "II S" portion of the marking could also provide a clue. At this time in Europe, many countries used markings to indicate times of day, mailings or routes. For example the "Vormittag" (morning) inclusions on some Swiss postmarks or the French rail terminus identification on their postal markings and Zug train number inclusions in Switzerland.
Border Crossings and Exchange Offices
Border crossings and exchange offices can be very complex since the Austrian borders move in 1859 and again in 1866. Additionally, numerous Italian States change governmental structures, eventually joining with Sardinia in the Kingdom of Italy.
Trieste - Ancona - Austrian Lloyd Packets
Initially, the Trieste-Ancona route connected Austria with the Papal States until the latter was reduced to the regions closest to Rome. Austrian Lloyd was critical for connections with Turkey and the East, but I assume this line lost mail traffic as the rail lines in Italy along the Adriatic Sea came to completion in the early to mid-1860's.
Ferrara (Venetia to Kingdom of Italy or Emilian Provinces)
Ferrara would be the Italian side of the rail crossing into Venetia when it was still a part of Austria. Rovigo would be a candidate for the companion town at this crossing on the Venetian/Austrian side, though there may be some smaller towns that would also qualify.
Cormons - Udine (after unification of Venetia with Italy)
The rail line crosses the border at Cormons in Austria with Udine being the largest settlement on the Italian side.
Brenner Pass railway entry north of Verona
Once the Brenner Pass opened in 1867, significant mail traffic via Innsbruck would have traveled this way. It is unclear to me whether most of this mail traffic was to northern European destinations as opposed to much of Austria.
Local Mail Crossings
As with other bordering countries in Europe, there were most certainly other border crossings that handled local mail. Of these, the ones in Tyrol would have to deal with the Alps more than any other Austro-Italian border areas.
Open Questions:
1. The rate from Austria to Italy in the 1867 treaty. I believe I found this once and have lost track of it.
Otherwise, it feels as if the basics are now surrounded. Though, there are most likely exceptions and additional destinations that could be explored in the future. This post will be revisited if and when I discover additional items to feature here or if I can clean it up with better references and some convention snippets.
Resources
Matha, T and Mentaschi, M, Letter Mail From and To the Old Italian States: 1850-1870, Vaccari, 2008.
Page 83-106 has the 1854 convention text here in Italian
Treaties of Austria and Hungary Vol 7
List of postal conventions for Austria are here:
link
convention of 1868 with north german states
hertslett's british conventons
