A small town in southern Italy has unveiled a special tribute to one of the Italian Americans who helped make the first Moon landing possible. On October 2, 2026, Sasso di Castalda, in the province of Potenza, Basilicata, inaugurated a bronze plaque honoring Rocco Anthony Petrone, the NASA engineer who directed launch operations for Apollo 11 in 1969.
Installed on Via Casale, at a building connected to Petrone's family origins, the plaque is part of “Il Civico delle Radici,” an initiative developed by Genoa's National Museum of Italian Emigration (MEI) to preserve the stories of Italian emigrants and their descendants.
The plaque features a QR code connecting visitors to “To the Moon and Back – La storia di Rocco Petrone,” a short documentary featuring NASA archival footage, historical documents, photographs, and personal testimonies.
Born in the United States to immigrants from Basilicata, Petrone graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point before joining NASA. He became a central figure in the Apollo program, overseeing launch preparations for the historic mission that carried Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins toward the Moon in July 1969.
The inauguration brought together Sasso di Castalda Mayor Rocchino Nardo, MEI Foundation President Paolo Masini, and Mimì Coviello of the Centro dei Lucani nel Mondo “Nino Calice.”
The tribute is dedicated to journalist Renato Cantore and represents the second of five planned “Civici delle Radici” installations across Basilicata.
More than half a century after Apollo 11, Petrone's extraordinary journey continues to connect Italian immigrant history with one of America's greatest scientific achievements.
