Italian artist Ernesto Lamagna, "sculptor of the angels," moves around a small makeshift classroom in a heavily secured military base in western Afghanistan with pride and enthusiasm.

He arrived a week earlier, brought by Italian troops, to work with young artists in Herat, a city with centuries of art, architecture and culture, but much of it destroyed by decades of war and fundamentalism.

"They have unleashed themselves," enthused the artist of his proteges.

On the walls are canvasses of conventional, perhaps commercial, images -- the face of an Afghan resistance hero, traditional street scenes, horses.

But others are more compelling: a dark image of a woman in a head-to-toe burka; a red question mark next to men who may be extremist Muslims; a woman in a black room standing at a window looking out on to a clear blue sky.

Paintings on large diamond-shaped paper will be "kites of peace" in an exhibition at the Italian foreign ministry in Rome and perhaps the European Parliament, said Lamagna.

His students were skilled at copying other pictures, making some of their work like "souvenirs for tourists," he said.

"They had a very good technique but they were not able to express themselves freely," the Italian master said of his class of 19, which includes women.

"I asked them to open their souls and explore in complete freedom. When they came the first day, I told them to go home and sleep and dream and then when you come here, draw your dream."

Lamagna was impressed with the results. "They are very strong paintings," he said. "They used a lot of strength and emotion."

The students, all from the art faculty of Herat University, said they found the experience liberating, a glimpse into a modern and imaginative style far removed from the realism and impressionism they were taught.

"I learned a modern and free style of painting that is very beautiful," said 20-year-old Homaira Rahimi.

"When I work this way I feel free. We can express the thoughts of Afghan women to the world outside through colours."

Lecturer Abdul Ghafar Ghafar said he had painted the fugitive leader of the insurgent Taliban, Mullah Mohammad Omar, in jail.

"That is what I think should happen to him. If he is arrested, he must be behind bars," he said.

Mullah Omar's extremist 1996-2001 Islamic regime banned pictures of live beings, including animals. It also destroyed paintings, statues and films, and -- to the horror of the world -- huge, ancient statues of the Buddha.

Ghafar was pleased the work would be presented in Europe. "It will show foreigners that all Afghans are not terrorists. It will show them what Afghans want and think," he said.

Lamagna, called "Lo scultore degli Angeli" on his website, which showcases his metalwork angels and other religious works, was brought to Afghanistan by Herat's Italian-run provincial reconstruction team.

One of 26 PRTs around the country under a NATO-led force, the units are part civilian, part military and led by different countries.

They work on development projects amid efforts to win over public support for the international troops fighting insurgents.