Rocco Petrone, the immigrant son
of a couple from the town of Sasso Castalda, near Potenza, was
the engineer monitoring the countdown on July 16, 1969 for the
launch of the Apollo 11 spacecraft in Cape Canaveral that would
take two men to the moon for the first time, Neil Armstrong and
Buzz Aldrin.
A mechanic engineer, he was the director of launch
operations.
He pronounced the key work "go" kicking off the mission,
accomplishing the "American dream" of generations of migrants -
a dream that landed on the moon on July 20, 1969.
Half a century later, Matera, the 2019 European capital of
culture, has organized an event to remember the Basilicata
native called "Matera vista dalla luna" (Matera seen from the
moon), in cooperation with the museums of the Basilicata region
and the municipal administration.
The 10-day event in the city, which also hosts the
prestigious Centro di geodesia spaziale (Center of space
geodesy), includes performances, book presentations, movie
screenings, shows on the moon and concerts at the local Cava del
Sole.
The initiative starts on July 16 through July 24.
A key event to take place on July 17, at 7 pm, is Luna
Italiana, on the terrace of Palazzo Lanfranchi, which will be
entirely dedicated to Petrone's figure and role.
A documentary - "Luna Italiana. Rocco Petrone e il viaggio
dell'Apollo 11" (Italian moon, Rocco Petrone and the voyage of
the Apollo 11" - will be screened afterwards.
The documentary is produced by Istituto Luce-Cinecittà for
A+E Networks Italia with the patronage of the Italian space
agency, in cooperation with NASA, and directed by Marco
Spagnoli.
Another key appointment, one of the highlights of Matera
2019, is scheduled at 9 pm on July 18, when the Cava del Sole
will host the multimedia performance "Apollo Soundtrack".
The Multimedia show written by Brian Eno, Roger Eno and
Daniel Lanois, will be performed for the first time outside of
the United Kingdom by British band Icebreaker with B.J. Cole,
Roger Eno and the participation of famous Irish cellist Gyda
Valtysdottir.
Also on the agenda is the concert on 19 July of the
Subsonica band at the Cava del Sole as part of their "8 Tour".
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
