By Samantha Higgins; staff writer and Elissa Sanci; opinion editor

On Feb. 19, President Steve Kaplan emailed the University of New Haven with news of a new location for UNH’s Prato campus. The campus will now be housed in a fully renovated, former sixteenth century convent in Prato, according to the email.

“It was my desire to move back into our original site, the Palazzo Vestri,” Kaplan said in the email. “However, the owners continued to be unreasonable and unwilling to negotiate.”

The new site was described by Kaplan as a “storybook space,” and is surrounded by a Franciscan church, a Renaissance cloister garden, a fifteenth century chapel and the town square.

“The town where the campus is located is great, because from day one, you get immersed in the Italian culture, which is why I loved living in Prato,” said Danielle Sumoski, a junior graphic design major who studied abroad in Prato Fall 2013.

Sumoski said the new building, which she saw often during her time in Italy, will be great for students. “It is right near the city center and a lot of the dorms, and also includes outside space and a terrace for students to hang out in between classes.”

The new location is also located next to the meal plan locations for the students studying in Prato, according to Sumoski.

“We will be able to move out of our current space, which is far too small to accommodate our program growth, and into this new facility by July 1 at the latest,” Kaplan said.

The entire complex was renovated in 2007 at the cost of over $2 million. The new location has many classrooms and offices, and has fully renovated residence hall rooms that can house 30 students, according to Kaplan.

The new building is in a main square of Prato that students are familiar with; it is much bigger than the current building, offering more classrooms, more office space for staff, student dorms on site and a professional kitchen. It is connected to a beautiful fifteenth century cloister that Kevin Murphy, the director of the Prato Campus, is extremely fond of and has a rooftop terrace that students will also have access to. The square it is in is always active with markets, people, and numerous shops and things to do- including a restaurant that is currently on the meal plan for the students so it will be very convenient for lunch between classes.

Along with the area the building is in it also offers a great opportunity for programming. The school already offers movie nights, game nights and other various activities for students throughout the semester but this building offers a professional kitchen that can give them an opportunity to do courses and demonstrations there.

There shouldn’t be any other big changes for the Prato campus after this. There might be some changes to housing since they now have room for so many students on the site of the school but the more students that go the more likely they will keep the current housing buildings as well. Murphy said this new building is a big change for everyone, but it is a great step forward to grow and develop.

Murphy looked at a lot of different buildings since the program began as it grew, this building just has more advantages than any other. The program has grown and needs a bigger and better place to accommodate the students so that they get a better experience; he is very excited for them to get this opportunity. This particular area is one of his favorite places. As of right now, this building is going to be the final home for the UNH Prato campus.

Students should not apply to the Prato campus just for the new building because it will not be guaranteed ready by August 2014. The campus officials are set to start setting up the campus in the middle of the summer. They are hoping it will be ready by fall.

Any students interested in studying in Prato should be excited about this move, regardless of when the move happens. The opportunities that the Prato campus is bringing to the students abroad keep growing. This new building will enhance the experience here and the staff is extremely excited to get moving and make this building a second home for students in Prato.