Parents, volunteers and command teams from across Caserma Ederle cheer as they welcome students to the new Vicenza High School at U.S. Army Garrison Italy’s Villagio housing community Aug, 23, 2023. (Brian Erickson/Stars and Stripes)
VICENZA, Italy — The military’s school system on Wednesday opened its newest high school, a quality-of-life upgrade at a garrison where the Army has begun one of its largest worldwide construction projects focused on family housing and amenities.
The unveiling of Vicenza High School just under four years after construction began brings all Department of Defense Education Activity schools at this garrison in northeastern Italy onto a single installation.
“Throughout this building, you cannot walk 10 feet without learning something,” said David Rudy, the acting principal.
Other DODEA schools started the new academic year Monday. Vicenza waited until Wednesday so teachers could settle into their classrooms and review the plan for the first day in the new school.
What sets Vicenza High School apart from the others in the complex is its Palladian architecture, incorporating elements of the work of Venetian master Andrea Palladio.
Symmetry is evident throughout. On one wall hangs a painting by an Italian artist, and directly across from it is an American artist’s painting that was inspired by it.
A placard on one of the walls of the newly constructed Vicenza High School describes the facility’s heating system. The placard is part of the “school is a teaching tool” program designed to educate and inform students throughout the building. (Brian Erickson/Stars and Stripes)
The school is built to accommodate about 350 students, but it can be expanded if necessary by enclosing two terraces on the sides, said Navy Cmdr. Jonathan Horner, resident officer in charge of construction.
Maj. Gen. Todd Wasmund, commanding general of the U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa, said the building upgrade will be a boon for education.
“This school represents tremendous investment to the students,” Wasmund said. “This is the standard of the investment that DODEA is making in our students, faculty and community.”
In addition to state-of-the-art labs, the school is a teaching tool unto itself, Rudy said. Placards on the walls spark the minds of students as they walk the halls, he said.
Hallway signs have bigger wording in Italian, with the English written underneath. The intent behind that is to teach the students some Italian, Rudy said.
The opening of the new high school in Vicenza comes as the garrison’s substandard housing is being demolished. The $450 million construction project is expected to yield about 500 new family homes.
Some of the first units in Caserma Ederle are expected to be finished by summer 2025, while the main part of the project, in the Villagio housing area, has a later timeline.
A stairwell in the new Vicenza High School in the Villagio housing community displays a poem by Italian poet Emilio Villa. The poem is one of many design elements thoughout the school that seek to teach students something as they go from class to class. (Brian Erickson/Stars and Stripes)
