Italian post is renewed by adapting to the current times more and more "smart". To update this time are the mailboxes, now the same since the 60s, with their recognizable Red. The very first smart mailboxes were installed a few days ago a Milano. Today they can be found in the city center: in square Duomoin via Cordusio e Via Orefici. In the coming weeks, the Italian Post Office will install them 46 across the city. At first glance they may look the same as the old ones, but these come with one e-ink screen (same technology as e-reder) connected to the internet, which will show i environmental data of the municipality in which they are installed, such as information on a temperature, pressure, humidity, fine, etc. In addition, the new smart mailboxes are also capable of detect the presence of letters, thanks to the appropriate sensors and indicate the quantity.

History of the mailbox

Red mailboxes arrived in Italian cities about 60 years ago, but the history of the mailbox is much older. The very first letterbox would in fact date back to 1632 and is located in the priory palace of Monte Santo di Spoleto (part of the Pontifical State). The first "cassettes" were real holes in the stone and were found mainly in municipal buildings (sometimes carved with ornaments). However, they were also present in the rest stations of the horses, where the couriers left and collected the letters. Initially the couriers collected the letters of presence and this increased the cost. Another historical matchbox, still a long way from modern smart mailboxes, is a Castel Gandolfo and it is dated 1820. According to some, this would be the oldest mailbox in the world (as also reported by the commemorative plaque placed above the hole).

Letterbox Castel Gandolfo 1820
Photo: © Pro Loco Castel Gandolfo

Il Kingdom of Italy instituted the public postal service and, with it, he also introduced the use of stamp. The cassettes multiplied throughout Italy, thanks also to the creation of the peripheral post offices. These were now to be at 1.5 meters high above the ground to prevent them from being wet by water. Their color was lively (yellow, green, red), in order to be immediately recognizable. Also towards the end of the nineteenth century, the mailboxes were also located in the most important railway stations of the Kingdom. At the beginning of the twentieth century the mobile mailboxes, mainly located on the trams that passed by the station. With the advent of the Republic the symbol of the was removed from the cassettes Kingdom of Italy (and the fasces, inserted during the Fascism). Over the years, the mobile boxes fell into disuse and, since 1961 the current red cassettes with double slot "city - other destinations".

Smart mailbox - Cremona central post offices
Photo: © Simone Ramella - Commons Wikimedia - CC BY 2.0

Smart mailboxes when they arrive in the rest of Italy

Milan was the first city to adopt smart mailboxes, but it will certainly not be the only one. In fact, in the next few months they will also be able to meet in other cities such as Roma, Napoli e Torino. The real national diffusion will take place only next year. In 2022 they will in fact be about 12mila the smart mailboxes installed on the national territory. Maybe they won't arrive right away small villages or in the smaller centersbut this is likely to happen gradually over the next few years. With the spread of e-mail and messages Whatsapp le red mailboxes they have become increasingly invisible to citizens. The new smart screen could give them new visibility, if only to check environmental information about the city. Has a new life begun for the dear old mailboxes or is it already too late?

Smart mailboxes arrive in Milan last edit: 2021-05-18T09:00:00+02:00 da Antonello Ciccarello

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