Naples, 22 June 2023 - Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti today met over 200 young people at the Trianon Viviani theatre in Naples' Forcella district. The meeting was part of the activities of the "Operazione Cielo" summer camps organised by Il Cielo Itinerante, the Italian non-profit association founded in 2021 with the aim of introducing young people from disadvantaged educational and social backgrounds to STEM subjects, in collaboration with Fondazione CDP, the project's main partner, and with the support of Fondazione Bracco, Fondazione Paolo Bulgari and iliad.
During the event, which was also attended by the city's mayor Gaetano Manfredi, Samantha shared what it's like to live on the International Space Station (ISS) with the young audience, who had the opportunity to ask her questions about space and the stars.
The young people involved in Operazione cielo attend six different summer camps in the districts of Forcella, Ponticelli, San Giovanni a Teduccio and San Carlo all'Arena in Naples, Giambellino in Milan and Tor Bella Monaca in Rome, where they have the chance to explore innovative ways of learning STEM subjects, thanks also to the collaboration with Standford University.