Thanks to the funds, the Institute has purchased a building of over 3,550 square metres to house 170 teachers, researchers and students
A loan of €3 million euros for the Gran Sasso Science Institute (GSSI), a Higher Institute for Special Education based in L'Aquila. The transaction finalised by Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), in line with the 2022-2024 Strategic Plan, is part of the group's commitment to support the construction and redevelopment of primary infrastructure, from schools to roads, from urban areas of public use to buildings dedicated to art and culture.
New classrooms, offices and meeting rooms, but also spaces for recreation and employees' children: the new GSSI building will open in 2023
Thanks to the funds allocated by CDP, the Gran Sasso Science Institute has purchased a building of over 3,550 square metres, formerly the INPS headquarters, which, in addition to offices for around 50 lecturers and rooms for around 30 of the Institute’s researchers and 90 students, will house a conference room, three meeting rooms and an area to be used as a laboratory. The new building, renovated to earthquake-proof standards in 2011, was needed due to the significant increase in the University's staff, also with a view to reducing the costs of the currently rented premises.
In addition to offices and study rooms, the basement will be fitted out with a sustainably managed and environmentally friendly cafeteria and in the attic there will be a recreational space for employee wellness activities, such as a yoga school. In addition, the foyers and corridors will have soundproofed areas for video calls and online meetings, while the 1,400-square-metre garden surrounding the building will house open-air study stations. Finally, a recreational area will be built for the children of GSSI employees, helping to improve their daily work-life balance.
The new GSSI building will open in 2023, but offices on the first floor will be assigned to PhD students, research fellows and lecturers in the coming months to ensure all three floors are fully occupied by next summer.
The new facility will see GSSI strengthening L'Aquila's scientific excellence
The Gran Sasso Science Institute is an international PhD school and a centre for research and higher education, with the status of a Higher Institute with Special Order. The Centre aims to strengthen scientific excellence in L'Aquila, in collaboration with the skills and highly specialised facilities already based in the area - such as the Gran Sasso National Laboratory of the National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN) and the University of L'Aquila - and to foster the attraction of high-level talent in the field of basic sciences and partnerships between research and enterprise.
CDP supporting Abruzzo
In the three-year period 2019-2021, CDP committed funds of more than €269 million to support more than 230 public bodies in the Abruzzo Region. In the same period, it supported more than 4,550 local companies with more than €276 million euros of funds provided to support innovation and growth projects. In total, CDP has committed more than €545 million to businesses and public bodies in the Abruzzo area.
CDP's commitment to the region is also evident following the opening of the "Spazio CDP" information point at the headquarters of the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio della Provincia dell'Aquila, which joins the point in Chieti, opened in 2020 inside the Chieti office of the Fondazione Banco di Napoli. CDP's aim is to increasingly respond to the needs of local authorities and enterprises and thus contribute to the economic, infrastructure and social development of the region.