It also helps that Edge is coached by Giovanni Lopez, who won the Italian Cup as a centre back with Lazio and Vicenza in the 1990s and had a long career in Serie A.
Vicenza was established in the top flight for most of the 1960s and 1970s but has flip-flopped between divisions since then. They have boasted greats of the Italian game in their red and white colours, including Baggio, Rossi, Luca Toni and Benito Carbone as well as Swedish international Joachim Bjorkland and long-time Socceroo Paul Okon.
Vicenza last featured in Serie A in 2001 and currently play in the third tier of Italian football, although that hasn't lessened the passion.
"It's a football-mad city," Edge says. "You can feel it all around and the focus on the sport is amazing. Walking around the streets, the fans — especially the Ultras — always stop to say hello and take a photo or ask for an autograph."
Edge has settled well. There were language struggles at first — he relied on hand gestures and often restaurant orders were a mystery — but can understand most of what is said now, which has made trainings a lot easier because they are conducted in Italiano. The 19-year-old shares an apartment in the city with two young team-mates from France and Serbia, admitting that keeping the house clean is an ongoing struggle.
Life revolves around football. The team train every morning for up to two hours before reconvening at 5pm for another 90-minute session. In between, food is often a focus and he tries to make the most of his limited spare time.
"Venice is only 40 minutes away so I can go there for lunch," Edge says. "Verona is just round the corner, too, and Milan is only two hours away."
Like Ryan Thomas, who is impressing with Dutch Eredivisie outfit PEC Zwolle, Edge is a product of Wellington's Ole Academy andsounds neither overawed nor overconfident.
He hopes this is the first step in his professional career but also realises it's a daily battle to prove himself against players who have been at the club and in the system most of their lives.
"It's already been a journey but there's a long way to go," says Edge, who uses the Twitter handle Il Padrino (Godfather). "You have to maintain your performance, try to constantly improve and be completely professional in your attitude. It's all about being mentally strong but we were well prepared at Ole."
After spending last season with the reserves, Edge's breakthrough came when he was included in the first team for a friendly against Italian champions Juventus.
"It was amazing to be up against some of the best players in the world like [Andrea] Pirlo, [Giorgio] Chiellini and [Paul] Pogba."
Edge was marking Dani Osvaldo, the striker who has appeared 12 times for the Azzurri, been the subject of several multi-million dollar transfers and played for Roma, Fiorentina and Southampton, among other clubs.
"I was really excited," Edge remembers. "I was keen to test the standard. There were some nerves but I was able to turn that extra energy into excitement — I am lucky, I've always been able to do that."
Edge returns to the national set-up next month after being included in the Junior All Whites to play in a four-team tournament in Qatar.
It's also a chance to impress new All Whites coach Anthony Hudson, as the senior and under-20 teams will be training together in the Gulf state.
"I hope this is just the start," Edge says. "One day, I want to be playing in the biggest leagues in the world but you have to take it one step at a time."
