Renzi aware task ahead is 'very hard'
Premier say country needs to get going starting from schools
26 February, 13:59
"I encountered a lovely atmosphere," Renzi - whose government was sworn in at the weekend and passed confidence votes in parliament on Tuesday - said during a visit to Treviso that started at a local middle school.
"There is pain and there are difficulties, but there are also expectations and hope.
"We are aware that there is very hard work to do".
The leader of the centre-left Democratic Party (PD) has pledged to visit a school every week, saying the education sector has to be Italy's "engine for growth".
"The school is the place for us to start from and in the next few hours we'll examine how to implement an extraordinary plan for school buildings with Education Minister Stefania Giannini," said Renzi, who is married to a teacher. Many Italian schools are in a state of disrepair.