The construction of a new primary school has to be a good sign in our area when too many rural communities in Italy are being rapidly depopulated in the rush to urban centres. It means that young families have chosen to find work within easy reach of their home or, as in the case of teleworking, now increasingly expanding in these pandemic times, in the home itself.

Returning home today via the longer scenic route which takes me to the start  of the Controneria road at Astracaccio I was pleased to find that the old school at Scesta is being rebuilt. There had been serious structural problems with that old school and there was even an idea that it should be demolished and the children attending from the local villages bussed instead to schools in larger centres, like Bagni di Lucca.

The parents’ opposition to this plan was very strong and there was a widespread and heart-felt plea to save their local school.

Finally, and in the middle of not the most propitious of times, the foundation of the school has now been completed and the main part of the building should be soon started. What with the new health centre being constructed at Fornoli this shows that there is an added confidence in a brighter future for our area.

Clearly our population is planned to increase and, more importantly, increase among the younger age-groups. I am so pleased to see an indicator of this in Scesta’s new school being erected to the latest ecological standards and rising amid the charming landscape of our Lima valley. How lucky the children will be to go to their first school in this unpolluted environment instead of having to be bussed to an often polluted and crowded location. I am quite sure it will be a very happy and successful school!