TRENT. Luciano Rigotti barber by work and philatelist by passion, but a very particular collector. He collects themed stamps, so he isn’t too interested in the rare ones, but rather in the ones he needs to complete the series. He doesn’t throw any of them away, in fact he keeps them all and then “works” them in this way
that they become pieces of a mosaic of stamps.
“I started collecting stamps in 1972at the end of eighth grade a teacher gave me some from his collection and so I began to grow as a collector”.
The peculiarity is that of the themed collection. “The first series was suggested by my wife: succulent plants and flowers, then the Trentino characters, the Marcialonga, the Council of Trent and here I had a exceptional consultant: Monsignor Bressan He is also a great enthusiast and scholar. But there are so many series.”
To complete the themed collections, stamps from all over the world? “Exactly and that’s why I don’t look for rarity, but for those I need to complete the theme.” But it doesn’t end there “Let’s say that this is part of my passion,
the other is i puzzle-pictures made with stamps”. And that is? “They give me an infinite quantity of stamps because no one wants their grandfather’s collections at home anymore and so they take them to the shop. I select them and then I prepare the ones of lesser value, ruined or broken. I cut out the teeth, then cut them into pieces and divide them by shape and color. Then I start from a drawing and create the painting. An idea that wasn’t just mine due to the truth that came to me when they forced us to close due to the pandemic.”
Have you had any exhibitions? “With many stamps, I exhibited the paintings in my Phon salon in Vicolo del Vò and in recent days I brought some to Bar Ilary in Vicolo all’Adige. Then I also have postcards, postal cancellations and many times the
theme is completed with a mix”.
Who collects stamps today? “There are fewer and fewer of us, let’s say that it has become a niche hobby also because there is a lack of raw materials: almost nothing is sent anymore, postcards are completely forgotten and the production of stamps is almost at a standstill”. Young people? “When they come to the shop and I show them to them, they are surprised: many have never seen them, but then it all ends there. I would say that the last large-scale collection was that of telephone cards, not only are those no longer there, but they also removed the telephone booths.”
