Italian island school reopens for just one student after 20 years
A primary school in the isolated Italian hamlet of Ginostra has reopened after 20 years to accommodate a single student. The village, located on the Stromboli volcano, faces significant logistical challenges, making the school's reopening a notable event for the small community.
Why it matters
The story highlights the struggle of maintaining essential public services in remote, depopulated regions and the importance of community preservation.
A six-year-old girl living beneath one of Europe's most active volcanoes recently became the only pupil at a school that the Italian media is calling the smallest in Europe and where the bell hadn't rung for the past 20 years. On September 10, 2026, Aysha went off to her first day of school in Ginostra, a tiny hamlet on the side of the Stromboli volcano, with a pink backpack and a cone of sweets in her hands. According to Italian news agency ANSA, she was visibly moved as her parents walked her in to meet her teacher, Laura Mongi, who had come down from the outskirts of Milan.An island inside an islandThe fishing hamlet of Ginostra is part of the town of Lipari, on the Italian island of Stromboli is so isolated that residents have christened it 'the island within an island.'
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