Italian
Poste Italiane announces that today, March 31, 2026, a stamp belonging to the thematic series “the excellences of Italian cultural heritage” dedicated to Rocco Petrone is issued by the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy, in celebration of the centenary of his birth.
Italy – The stamp features a portrait of engineer Rocco Petrone, of Lucanian origin, who is remembered for having directed the launch operations of the Apollo 11 mission at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, United States.
The stamp, issued by the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy, is printed by the State Polygraphic Institute and Mint S.p.A., using rotogravure, on white, neutral coated, self-adhesive paper with optical brightener. The value corresponds to tariff B amounting to €1.30. The print run is one hundred eighty thousand copies in sheets of forty-five copies.
Bozzetto has been curated by the company Digital Lighthouse S.r.l. and optimized by the Philatelic Center of the Value Paper and Traditional Productions Office of the State Polygraphic Institute and Mint S.p.A.
The cartoon depicts a portrait of engineer Rocco Petrone, of Lucanian origin, who is remembered for directing the launch operations of the Apollo 11 mission at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, United States. On the right is depicted the rocket from the Apollo program, the American space mission that took man to the moon in 1969.
The stamp is completed by the inscriptions “ROCCO PETRONE”, “DIRECTOR OF THE APOLLO PROGRAM” and the dates “1926 – 2006”, the word “ITALY” and the tariff indication “B”.
The first day cancellation will be available at the philatelic counter of the post office in Sasso di Castalda (PZ).
