On the morning of April 23, 2026, the Italian region of Calabria will host, for the first time, an institutional event entirely dedicated to the Space Economy, a strategic sector on a global scale and a cornerstone of new European industrial policies.
The event will focus in particular on the enabling role of data and digital infrastructure for the development of the Space Economy and its regional applications. The growth of the space sector requires not only technological and industrial expertise, but also the involvement of financial institutions capable of supporting the emergence and consolidation of new supply chains.
The initiative is sponsored by the Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy (MIMIT), in collaboration with Confindustria Reggio Calabria and iSaisei Corporation, and is officially part of the national program for the "Made in Italy Day", promoted by MIMIT. Among the partners involved in the event are the Innovative Companies Incubator of Politecnico di Torino (I3P) and the ESA BIC Turin incubation program, managed by I3P in collaboration with the Italian Space Agency (ASI), the European Space Agency (ESA), Politecnico di Torino and LINKS Foundation.
The gathering in the city of Reggio Calabria marks a strategic milestone for the region, signaling Calabria’s entry into the national space economy and into new high-value-added industrial sectors. The event also offers an opportunity to align the region’s positioning with a vision for the future that combines industrial ambition, local development, and openness to the major technological transformations currently underway.
The event will be held in Italian language. No registration is required.
Agenda
09.00 | Registration and welcome coffee
09:30 | Opening remarks
Giuseppe Antonio Sofia, Director of the Regional Inspectorate (Casa del Made in Italy) for Calabria and Sicily, MIMIT
Domenico Vecchio, President of Confindustria Reggio Calabria
10:00 | Official greetings
Clara Vaccaro, Prefect of Reggio Calabria
Roberto Occhiuto, President of Regione Calabria
Leonardo Gagliardi, National President of the Association for ICT Services, Applications, and Technologies for Space (ASAS)
Aldo Ferrara, President of Unindustria Calabria
Antonino Tramontana, Vice President of Unioncamere Calabria and President of the Reggio Calabria Chamber of Commerce
Giuseppe Zimbalatti, Rector of the Mediterranean University of Reggio Calabria
Gianluigi Greco, Rector of the University of Calabria (UNICAL) in Rende (Cosenza)
Giovanni Cuda, Rector of the University of Catanzaro "Magna Grecia"
10:30 | Panel: "Strategies and tools for the development of the Space Economy"
Leo Italiano, Senior Consultant of I3P and Program Manager of ESA BIC Turin
Luca Salamone, Director General of the Italian Space Agency
Matteo Botticelli, Head of the Italia Space Venture Fund at CDP Venture Capital SGR
Special Guest: Franco Malerba, Astronaut of ESA (first Italian astronaut) and Co-Founder & Business Strategy Manager at Space V
Moderator: Emanuele Martinelli, Energia Media
11:45 | Panel: "Industry and technologies for the New Space Economy"
Giancarlo Coppola, Chief Financial Officer of iSaisei Corporation
Michele D’Ercole, VP Space Operations of iSaisei Corporation
Antonio Oliverio, Chief Technology Officer of TOD System
Bianca Simonassi, System Engineer of Space V
Moderator: Emanuele Martinelli, Energia Media
12:45 | Conclusions
