(30 September 2016) An Italian-American has made a vital contribution to the conquest of outer-space: Rocco Petrone. The engineer and astronaut with Lucanian origins – one of the most important figures of the “Apollo” programme that took man to the moon – is in fact the focus of an evening event held in Oppido Lucano, in the province of Potenza. On the occasion the tenth anniversary of his death and the ninetieth anniversary of his birth, the town of Basilicata has organised the celebration of the man who made a fundamental contribution to the launch of the Apollo 11 to the moon. Born in the United States in 1926 to Italian parents who emigrated from Sasso di Castalda, a town in the province of Potenza, Petrone served in various positions during his career at NASA. He was Director of the “Apollo” program in 1969. According to a note from the developers of the initiative, the event in Oppido Lucano, organised by reading group “Leggiamoci su”, sponsored by the municipality of Oppido and with contribution of the BCC Oppido Lucano and Ripacandida wished to emphasize the naming of “Largo Rocco Petrone” in Oppido Lucano in a common area from which the moon could be observed in all its splendor. Throughout the course of the evening pieces dedicated to the moon were read by “Leggiamoci su”. All the scientific and technical reflections on Apollo 11 were provided by the engineer Donato Fidanza. (Red)
