by InTrieste
Local officials this week presented the results of emergency safety and maintenance work carried out at the San Giusto Martire Primary School on Via Trissino, which had been closed for several months following a ceiling collapse late last year.
The announcement was made during a press conference inside the school by Elisa Lodi, the city’s Councillor for Real Estate and Sports, and Maurizio De Blasio, Councillor for Education and Family Affairs. They were joined by school administrators, municipal engineers, and representatives from the construction firms that completed the repairs.
The school was forced to shut down in December, after sections of plaster fell from the ceilings. Following inspections by the fire brigade and city engineers, authorities deemed the building unsafe, relocating more than 200 students to nearby institutions — the Svevo Middle School and the Marin Primary School — until the facility could be stabilized.
According to the city’s building office, the project involved the removal of old plaster, the installation of reinforced anti-collapse ceilings, asbestos abatement in four classrooms, repainting, and the replacement of lighting systems with low-energy LED fixtures.
Mr. De Blasio emphasized that the interventions, though disruptive, were necessary to ensure children could return to safe classrooms. “This allows us to guarantee the right to study in places where families can feel at ease,” he said, thanking school staff and parents for their patience.
Ms. Lodi noted that the transfer of students had been unavoidable, given the risks of further incidents. “Today we present a school that is not fully renovated but is certainly safe,” she said, adding that Trieste oversees more than 150 school buildings requiring both routine and extraordinary maintenance.
School principal Maria Rosaria Conforti expressed gratitude to municipal offices and construction crews. “It was complicated to relocate over 200 pupils, but thanks to the cooperation of families and staff, we managed the emergency,” she said.
The total cost of the work amounted to about €425,000 before taxes, financed through two framework agreements for historic primary schools. The first phase, carried out by ESSE Costruzioni of Trieste, allowed part of the school to reopen in May. The second phase, led by Valerio Sabinot Srl of Udine, was completed at the end of August, just in time for the new academic year.
