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Count Annibale Raybaudi Massilia, Ambassador of Italy, began to collect stamps as a boy and then, facilitated in his passion by its diplomatic work, became one of the leading collectors of the world at a time when it was the head of King Victor Emanuel II that appeared on the stamps circulating in Italy (1870). |
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Little known as a collector in his native land, because he spent most of his time abroad, he passed on his passion for stamps to his son, Serafino Raybaudi Massilia, a naval officer, who built up a series of important collections and already by the start of the Great War and to make some important collections. Already in the early years of the Great War, he and his fellow-collector Baron Massola, who, like Serafino, was a native of the City of Genoa, were the true pioneers of the Sardinia Fourth Emission, well before Lajolo and Rattone appeared on the scene. |
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The tradition continued with his son, Luigi Raybaudi, who, in addition to being an avid collector, laid greater emphasis on the professional aspects of philately. Already an accredited philately journalist for the Federation Internationale de la Presse Philatélique in 1933, a court and legal expert in the field by 1942, he created and edited the three most prestigious Italian publications specializing in the field (Italia Filatelica, Filatelia and Francobolli). In recognition of the scope of his interests and activities, he became one of the first ten collectors to be admitted to the Albo d'Oro della Filatelia Italiana”. He is a founder member of the Association internationale des experts en philatélie (A.I.E.P). and of the Accademia Italiana di Studi Filatelici [Italian Academy of Philatelic Studies]. |
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In 1953, his son Maurizio entered in RAYMOND (RAYBAUDI-MONDOLFO) where he developed his philatelic skills under grew the inestimable tutelage of Renato Mondolfo, Luigi Raybaudi Massilia and Giacomo Rivera. Also an expert witness for the Court of Rome, Maurizio Raybaudi Massilia was, until his death, the chief consultant at the RAYBAUDI EXPERTS studio and editor-in-chief of RAYBAUDI EDITORE. |
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Serena Vignati. In 1980, Serena began to work with Luigi and Maurizio Raybaudi. She was the first woman to work as a legally-recognized philately expert, and since 1998 has been an expert witness and consultant for the Court of Rome and the Chambers of Commerce. She began signing her first certificates of authentication in 2005. In 2006, owing to Maurizio Raybaudi’s ill health, she received the power of attorney to sign stamps on his behalf. Since Maurizio’s death, she has continued the work of the studio. She is a founding member and currently vice-president of the Italian Professional Association of Philatelic Experts (APFIP by its Italian acronym), set up in 2012. |