Soncino (Cremona), Italy
Agostino (Ago) Alberti is an elementary school teacher from Soncino, a small town in the Department of Cremona, Po Valley, northern Italy. Mr. Alberti writes:
"I heard about you for the first time in the movie October Sky. I have watched it at the picture house for the first time back in 2001. I know the film is simply 'based on a true story,' and it is not an historical source, but I am convinced it is a quite good movie. Well, as I am a primary school teacher, I show my scholars the Italian version of that movie, when they are 11. Here in the Cremona area in the XXI century we are not forced to go to work at the mine as you were in Coalwood back in the '50s; however, it is quite difficult to persuade the schoolboys to go on with their students' career and to apply themselves with more effort at school. So, the example of the 'Rocket Boys' from the small Coalwood is very meaningful for them. My schoolboys watched the movie last week and now they are going to write compositions and do drawings about the story of the mine, the Sputnik, Miss Riley, your adventures and your final success as they are depicted in the movie. To make brief a long story, in this moment you and the other three 'Rocket Boys' are their heroes!"
Mr. Alberti also attached drawings from his students (see above).
Here are the names of the students involved in this project:
CLASSE 5 Sez A:
Aurora Bertoletti; Angelo Bevilacqua; Sara Bosio; Cristian Cocchiara; Andrada Covaciu; Andrea Demarchi; Gabriele Didirea; Giulia Duranti; Erika Grazioli; Paolo Iurilli; Martina Locatelli; martina Maccabelli; Gulia Mainardi; Matteo Nodari; Nicholas Pedretti; Isabella Piccioni; Alberto Ponti; Stefano Secchi; Aswinder Singh; Asia Strepparava; Luca Tarenghi; Cesare Zampieri.
CLASSE 5 Sez. B:
Charlotte Achilli; Chiara Calonghi; Irina Cavagnoli; Filippo Cedri; Pietro Cremonesi; Emma Ferrari; Marco Fontanini; Cesare Ghidini; Luigi Mariani; Filippo Moro; Giulia Moro; Lucia Ottolini; Marco Pea; Sabri Pepa; Paola Piccioni; Mario Pizzocheri; Preet Preet; Sara Riccardi; Luca Sidoli; Nicola Soldo; Sabrina Tapia; Nicholas Trombino; Giorgia Vavassori.
Other teachers involved in this project include:
Mrs. Arianna Carubelli
Mrs. Ornella Zaninelli
Mrs. Antonella Gorna
Greetings
from the Rocket Girls of Soncino!![]() ![]() |
![]()
Please click here to find Soncino (Cremona), Italy, and Coalwood, West
Virginia, USA on a Google map!
Use your mouse to move around the map and zoom in and out.






