The program of the National Final of the XXII edition of the Italian Astronomy Championships which will take place from 16 to 18 April in the city of the Strait was presented this morning at Palazzo Corrado Alvaro, headquarters of the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria. The initiative, promoted by the Ministry of Education to the Italian Astronomical Society and the National Institute of Astrophysics, in collaboration with the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria, will involve around a hundred students and as many teachers from the entire country.
The details of the event were illustrated by the mayor of the Metropolitan City Giuseppe Falcomatà during a press conference which, in the “Trisolini” room of Palazzo Alvaro, brought together the delegated councilor for Culture, Filippo Quartuccio, the manager of the metropolitan sector, Giuseppina Attanasio, the manager of the “Pythagoras” Planetarium of the Metropolitan City, Angela Misiano, Professor Giuseppe Cutispoto of the Italian Astronomical Society and Professor Anna Brancaccio for the Ministry of Education and Merit. Also present in the room were the metropolitan deputy mayor Carmelo Versace, the municipal councilor Carmelo Romeo and the councilor Filippo Burrone, Professor Francesco Carlo Morabito of the “Mediterranea” University, Professor Riccardo Barbieri of Unical, Professor Miriam Calipari of the scientific high school ” Leonardo da Vinci”, all partners of the event, and finally, as sponsors, the company that owns the Atam transport service and the Hotel Altafiumara, represented by the administrator Giuseppe Basile and the marketing and communications manager, Christian Zuin.
For Mayor Falcomatà, it is an «event that gives prestige to our city and allows us to learn more about and delve deeper into a subject like astronomy which has two merits above all». «The first – he explained – is to make us stand with our heads up to look at the sky and the universe, which is always a source of inspiration and hope. Therefore, the study of the stars allows children to develop a different awareness. Even if not everyone will become scientists, they will be able to come into contact with the cosmos and understand that we are just a grain of sand in the middle of the universe. The universe, therefore, teaches us to be humble.” «A mistake that is often made – continued the mayor – is to believe that everything revolves around us and our choices. Thus, when our needs are not met, we invoke bad luck, the presence of a sort of conspiracy against us that we are unlucky and persecuted by misfortune. Astronomy, on the other hand, allows us to try to understand the vastness of the universe and, therefore, our being simply a grain of sand compared to everything else.”
In thanking the commitment of councilor Quartuccio, of the manager Attanasio and of the entire Sector, of Professor Misiano, of the Ministry and of all the actors involved in the great scientific project which also received the moral patronage of the Calabria Region, Mayor Falcomatà then underlined «the goodness of similar initiatives which generate various very positive implications also in terms of tourism, including the participation and presence, in our city, of numerous families who, for the entire duration of the championships, will be able to learn more about and appreciate our places, the beauties of the area, and who will have the opportunity to see Reggio Calabria in a different light from that which often appears in newspaper reports”. «The national final of the Astronomy Championships – continued Falcomatà – is also important for the Reggio brand, for an idea of a city that is also a tourist destination for cultural events».
According to councilor Quartuccio, “it is a pride to be able to host this wonderful event which projects the metropolitan area onto very high cultural and scientific levels”. «The precious contribution of the sponsors and institutional partners – he continued – makes us understand how important synergy is to set up initiatives of importance and of enormous academic and cultural depth. About two hundred people will arrive in our city, including students, teachers and jurors, plus their accompanying families, and we are certain that Reggio and the people of Reggio will be able to welcome this great event in the best possible way.”
And if Giuseppe Cutispoto, from Sait, recalled how Reggio itself is «the city with the record of participations», underlining «the exceptional commitment of the Metropolitan City which has allowed a final to be held which will select the Italian team for the next international Olympics », Professor Brancaccio greatly appreciated the work of Palazzo Alvaro as an «example of political excellence that marries the culture and education of our students for the growth of our country». The representative of the Ministry thus thanked the mayor Falcomatà and the sector directed by Giuseppina Attanasio because “it is with knowledge that they invest in the new generations”.
The manager Attanasio himself highlighted the goodness of the administration's programming which «gives us the possibility of organizing events like this or like the Cosmos Festival which make us proud and offer a positive narrative of the territory and its excellence, also through active involvement of the institutional partners who accompany us in this wonderful experience.” Finally, Angela Misiano praised “the activities promoted by the Metropolitan City around the secular oratory represented by the Pythagoras Planetarium, a place where children can meet and talk about science”.