Monitoring the progress of the work and demonstrating constant commitment at every stage: two pillars. The new vocational school will open its doors to students next September.
San Ginesio (MC), 12 January 2026 – This morning, the General Director of the Andrea Bocelli Foundation, Laura Biancalani, and the Special Commissioner for post-earthquake reconstruction 2016, Guido Castelli, visited the construction site of the new R. Frau Vocational School for Industry and Crafts in San Ginesio to closely monitor the progress of the work and share the next steps of the project with the local community.
Work is proceeding according to schedule and the new school complex is set to open its doors to students starting next September, giving the area back a strategic educational facility for the technical and professional training of the younger generation.
This is a decisive phase in a project that represents a pilot initiative at national level for its innovative approach, which brings together the public and private sectors in a collaborative model based on co-planning, co-design and co-execution.
On behalf of the Commissioner for Reconstruction, the Andrea Bocelli Foundation is acting as designer and project manager, through its multidisciplinary team, working in close synergy with the commissioner’s offices, the Municipality of San Ginesio and the school.
In particular, a participatory design process was launched with the institute from the early stages, involving the teaching staff through dedicated meetings and site visits, a dialogue that continues today in the definition of the educational facilities and spaces.
The building, which covers an area of over 2,000 square metres, has been designed as a modern, earthquake-proof complex, equipped with a 40 kWp photovoltaic system and certified in class IV – buildings with public or strategic functions. Three adjacent blocks, veritable “science boxes”, will host school, laboratory, sports and recreational-creative activities, including outdoors, with spaces designed to be flexible, inclusive and functional for different learning styles.
The IPSIA “R. Frau” is a permanent laboratory for research and innovation in the field of Vocational Education and Training, with professional workshops dedicated to courses in Industry and Craftsmanship for Made in Italy and Maintenance and Technical Assistance.
Corridors and common areas will become natural extensions of classrooms, designed not as passageways but as open spaces for dialogue, planning and co-construction of skills, in constant relation with the local productive fabric.
In this perspective, the Institute aims to become a place of growth for the new generations and a driving force for the training of professionals who are indispensable for the development of craftsmanship and businesses in the area. In other words, an investment in young people and in the revival of our country’s excellence.
From a technical and financial point of view, the project falls under Special Ordinance No. 9 of 2021 and involves a total reprogrammed investment of €9,135,755.38. The original funding of €7,453,035.50 was subsequently supplemented with additional resources to bring the economic framework into line with the amount of the project approved by the Services Conference and the validated executive level. A portion of the funding, amounting to €826,194.60, is earmarked for design, works management and safety and was donated by the Andrea Bocelli Foundation, while the remainder is covered by the special account of the Commissioner’s Office.
“For ABF,” commented Laura Biancalani, CEO of the Foundation, “San Ginesio represents an essential part of a journey that we have been pursuing for years in the Marche region. With this new initiative, we want to contribute to creating a beautiful, safe and generative educational environment, where young people can learn, discover themselves and prepare for their professional future while remaining connected to their community. It is a sign of a commitment that does not end with the emergency but chooses to be there and stay there.”
“Reconstruction also means restoring prospects, jobs and confidence to the affected communities,” says Special Commissioner Guido Castelli. “The new IPSIA ‘R. Frau’ is a concrete example of how collaboration between public institutions and a philanthropic organisation such as the Andrea Bocelli Foundation can generate high-quality results, focusing on the educational needs of young people and the development of the local area. In this sense, the central Apennines confirm their status as a real laboratory for new models of public-private collaboration, capable of producing innovative interventions such as the one carried out together with the ABF. Technical and professional training is a decisive lever for the future of the areas affected by the earthquake, because it connects schools to work and to the concrete needs of communities. Over the years, the Foundation has shown great sensitivity and constant support for the crater area, accompanying communities with interventions designed to last. Safe, efficient and, above all, high-quality schools offer children, young people and families a concrete prospect of staying and building their future here, making the area more attractive, as is happening in San Ginesio. It is an important sign that, starting next school year, more children will be able to pursue their studies in an efficient and safe school, as is already the case in San Severino Marche with the Divini Institute and in Camerino with the Betti Institute, where the Foundation has been involved in a process of upgrading educational spaces. We have worked and continue to work to solve problems, guaranteeing the necessary resources, and in this case with the heart and expertise of the Andrea Bocelli Foundation, to ensure quality education and leave no one behind.
“For the community of San Ginesio, this construction site represents a concrete opportunity to revitalise our town and give it a future through its young people. Seeing the new IPSIA R. Frau take shape means knowing that, starting in September, young people will be able to return to spaces designed for them, to study, learn a trade and build their own lives here. I would like to express my deep gratitude to Special Commissioner Guido Castelli, the Andrea Bocelli Foundation, and all those who are working on this project, because thanks to this alliance, San Ginesio confirms itself as a small community capable of great challenges and a courageous outlook on tomorrow.” Giuliano Ciabocco, Mayor of San Ginesio.
The work on the IPSIA “R. Frau” school is part of a broader initiative that has seen the Andrea Bocelli Foundation involved in various reconstruction projects in the Marche region since the 2016 earthquake.
Along this journey, ABF has chosen to accompany the local area over time, creating projects that have become symbols of shared rebirth. With the Giacomo Leopardi middle school in Sarnano, the E. De Amicis primary and nursery school in Muccia, the ABF Educational Hub 0-11 in Sforzacosta, the Ugo Betti Institute in Camerino, for which the Foundation has curated exhibitions and creative workshops, and with the reconstruction of the new IPSIA ‘R. Frau’ in San Ginesio, which is currently underway.
