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.
Get breaking news anytime, anywhere. Download the TOI app now!
