A six-year-old girl named Aysha will be the only student at Europe's smallest school when it opens its doors on the Italian island of Stromboli on September 10. The community of Ginostra, where Aysha lives, had its primary school closed two decades ago due to a dwindling population, which now numbers around 40 residents.
The reopening of the school comes after Aysha's parents expressed concerns about her needing to travel to a school on Lipari, the largest island in the Aeolian archipelago, for her education. Local authorities agreed to reopen the single-classroom school, housed in a building owned by the local Catholic Church, to keep the family on the island.
"We love this little paradise, the nature, the sea, even the volcano that looms over our homes. We don't want to have to leave," Aysha's father, Raffa Bazine, told Italian news outlet Ansa. He added that his daughter is a happy child who interacts with other children who stay in Ginostra for extended periods, learning even a few words of German from them.
Ginostra is a remote settlement perched on the slopes of the active volcano Stromboli. Access to the hamlet is exclusively by boat, and rough seas can often isolate the community from the mainland. The lack of roads connecting it to the rest of Stromboli has led residents to nickname it "the island within an island."
Riccardo Gullo, the village's mayor, stated that the school's opening is a "sign of solidarity for this isolated community" and that schooling should be a fundamental right, regardless of location. Father Nino Pirrotta, the parish priest, emphasized the role of schools as community focal points, not just places of learning.
The island of Stromboli is known for its frequent eruptions and has a history of attracting filmmakers. It served as the backdrop for Roberto Rossellini's 1950 film "Stromboli," starring Ingrid Bergman, and more recently, was a filming location for "Three Incestuous Sisters," featuring actors Mick Jagger, Dakota Johnson, and Josh O'Connor.
While this school will be Europe's smallest, Aysha is not the first child to attend a school with minimal enrollment. Aron Anderson was reportedly the sole student at the Skerries Community School on the remote Scottish island of Out Skerries, with the local council reportedly spending a significant amount on his education. Out Skerries, located in the Shetland Isles, has a population of 70 and is accessible from the Shetland capital of Lerwick by a two-and-a-half-hour ferry ride.