Last year, 1957, Italy issued a stamp honouring St. Francis of Paola, the patron saint of seafarers. He was born in 1416 in the small coastal town of Cabria in Southern Italy and was canonised in 1519 a few years after his death. The illustration on the stamp shows an alleged miracle when the saint with another friar crossed the Straits of Messina on the floating cloak of St. Francis. The owner of the vessel, seen carrying timber in the background, had refused to carry the friars as passengers. The stamp commemorated the 450th anniversary of the saint's death.
SG960 Sea Breezes 6/58