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🇮🇹 Italy /Culture & Society

School year begins in Bolzano as Italy’s students return to class

From ANSA · () Italian

Translated from Italian and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Bolzano will be the first Italian area to reopen schools, with nearly 8 million students returning nationwide between September 6 and 17.
  • Rosolini in Sicily has delayed classes until September 21 because classrooms lack adequate climate-control equipment, while a teacher in Agropoli has petitioned for a later start because of the heat.
  • Consumer groups estimate schoolbooks and supplies cost about 1,300 euros per student, a figure disputed by Federcartolai of Confcommercio.

Italy’s school year begins in Bolzano on Monday, September 6, sending more than 85,000 children and teenagers back to classrooms before students elsewhere in the country. Nearly 8 million students will return to school nationwide in stages through September 17.

In the autonomous province of Bolzano, 22,080 students attend Italian-language schools and 64,759 attend German-language schools. Another 2,895 young people will return to schools in the Ladin valleys. Students in Trento, Valle d’Aosta and Veneto follow on September 10. Other regions reopen between September 14 and 16, with Puglia last on September 17.

the lack of adequate climate-control equipment in classrooms

· Giovanni SpadolaThe mayor of Rosolini cited the condition when ordering a one-week delay to the school year.

Heat has already disrupted the schedule. Giovanni Spadola, the mayor of Rosolini in Sicily, signed an order postponing the first day of the 2026-27 school year until September 21. He said the delay reflected “the lack of adequate climate-control equipment in classrooms.” In Agropoli, in the province of Salerno, a teacher has submitted a popular petition calling for schools to open later. “The persistence of this heat puts the physical and psychological well-being of the entire school community at risk,” she said.

The persistence of this heat puts the physical and psychological well-being of the entire school community at risk.

· Teacher in AgropoliThe teacher used the statement in a petition seeking a later school opening.

Temperatures are expected to fall sharply from Wednesday, September 9. At the same time, consumer associations have renewed warnings about the cost of returning to school, putting spending on books and supplies at about 1,300 euros per student.

Federcartolai, part of Confcommercio, challenged the estimate, saying it was exactly the same as the figures given for 2024-25 and 2025-26. “Either the cost of living froze in 2023 or that figure gets copied every August without anyone bothering to verify it,” the association said. Codacons has urged the government to extend a 19% income-tax deduction to documented purchases of textbooks, stationery, technical and art materials, and school-required teaching tools.

Either the cost of living froze in 2023 or that figure gets copied every August without anyone bothering to verify it.

· Federcartolai of ConfcommercioThe association disputed consumer estimates of 1,300 euros in annual school costs per student.
About this summary

Originally published by ANSA in Italian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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