The Delegation of Frosinone was previously part of the administrative division of Campagna e Marittima (Campaniæ Maritimæque) dating back to the 12th century. Following several administrative changes during the Roman Republic and the Napoleonic occupation, the Delegation of Frosinone was established by motu proprio (a type of Papal decree) of Pope Pius VII in 1816. Popes Leo XII and Gregory XVI subsequently changed the boundaries of the delegation by motu proprio. The Papal enclave of Pontecorvo, surrounded by the Kingdom of Naples, was part of the Delegation of Frosinone, until it became part of the Kingdom of Italy in 1860. The Papal States fell to the Kingdom of Italy on September 20, 1870, when Italian troops entered Rome. After reunification, the Delegation of Frosinone was part of the District of Rome until 1927, when the Province of Frosinone was created. The modern day Province of Frosinone includes most of the territory of the Delegation of Frosinone, plus part of the Terra di Lavoro which was previously part of the Kingdom of Naples. Piperno (now known as Priverno) and six neighboring towns that were part of the Delegation of Frosinone are now part of the Province of Latina.
Frosinone was one of 40 "Direzione Postale" (Post Office of Direction) in the Papal States, and was responsible for a "circondario" of 41 subsidiary villages and towns. Within the circondario, Anagni, Ferentino, Ceprano, Piperno, and Veroli were first class distribution offices.
Postal Rates
Prior to January 1, 1864, postal rates in the Papal States were based upon the "Tosti Law" named after its author, Cardinal Tosti. The Tosti postal rates are highly complex, based upon postal "distances" which were actually geographic divisions having nothing to do with the measured distance between post offices, "radius" within a "distance" and the "circondario" surrounding each "Direzione Postale."
Distance I was comprised of Umbria and Latium, Distance II was the Marches, and Distance III was the Romagna. The Distances can be seen on this
1844 Map of the Papal States. Distance I was subdivided into Radius I (Umbria), Radius II (Rome and Civita Castellana), and Radius III (Latinum). The delegation of Frosinone was part of Distance I, Radius III. Common postal rates for the Delegation of Frosinone are as follows:
Letters within the same Direzione Postale (within the Delegation of Frosinone) - Baj. 1
Letters sent to an adjacent Direzione Postale (e.g. Velletri) - Baj. 2
Letters sent to a non-adjacent Direzione Postale within the same postal distance (e.g. Roma) - Baj. 3
Letters from Distance I, Radius III to postal distance II - Baj. 6
Letters from Distance I, Radius III to postal distance III - Baj. 7
Beginning January 1, 1864, the rate was Baj. 2 for letters within the greatly reduced territory of the Papal States. In 1867, the Papal States changed its currency from bajocchi and scudi to lire and centesimi. In the new currency, the rate was 10 centesimi.