Pre-unification
The Cavallini ("little horses") of Sardinia was an early private mail service, notable for the introduction of prepaid stamped lettersheets in 1819.
In 1850, Count Camillo Cavour drafted a report to the Piedmont Chamber of Deputies proposing postal reform along the lines of that which had been adopted in several European states, and including postage stamps, for which a new word - francobollo - was coined. The reform became law in November, and went into effect 1 January 1851.
After some casting around for expertise in the newfangled art of stamp printing, the government settled on the house of Francesco Matraire in Turin. Matraire produced stamps with an embossed profile of Victor Emmanuel II.
Other states in Italy also issued stamps during the 1850s: Modena, Naples, the Papal States, Parma, Romagna, Sicily, and Tuscany.
Read more about this topic: Postage Stamps And Postal History Of Italy