First postage stamp - Tuscany (1851) Tie

The symbol of this first stamp of Tuscany is the Marzocco. The Marzocco is the heraldic lion that is a symbol of Florence. This symbol was apparently the first piece of public secular sculpture commissioned by the Republic of Florence, at the end of the 14th century. The lion stood at the heart of the city in the Piazza della Signoria at the end of the platform attached to the Palazzo Vecchio called the ringhiera, from which speakers traditionally harangued the crowd. The sculpture is now lost, having weathered with time to an unrecognisable mass of stone.