International Editions 2026

Il Borgo del Monte Antico, Varzi.

Your child flies out on Monday. They return Sunday evening.

Everything in between happens here.

Ask the team a question

The estate

A 25,000-square-feet residence on 104 acres of land.

Il Borgo del Monte Antico sits in the Oltrepò Pavese hills, about two hours south of Milan by road. It is a private residential estate used year round for educational groups, with space for up to 100 guests across the residence and grounds.

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Il Borgo del Monte Antico, VarziOpen in Google Maps

Two hours south of Milan by road · Oltrepò Pavese, Lombardy

What grows here

A working estate.

The Borgo produces much of the food served during the week. There are two greenhouses, one of which is hydroponic. A 450-tree orchard supplies fruit through the summer. Sixty hens provide eggs. Nearly four acres are planted with lavender.

Students see this during the week. The orchard, greenhouses and dining room are part of the same place. Food does not arrive as something separate from the land around it.
The estate is quiet, productive and large enough for the week to feel settled.

450+

fruit trees

7,000

lavender plants

60+

hens

2

greenhouses

A condition, not a theme

Respect for the Nature is one of three rules.

The week at the Borgo runs on three rules. One of them is respect for the land. This is not a theme inside the programme. It is a condition for being here.

What follows from this is visible. The hens settle when students are nearby. The orchard is productive every summer. Vegetables grown in the greenhouses are eaten here, the same week they are picked. The point is not what we say about the place. It is what the place returns when it is looked after.

serra

The journey

Accompanied from London, throughout.

UK students travel as a group. The CYL team meets them at Gatwick on Monday morning, accompanies them on the flight to Milan, and is with them again on the return on Sunday evening. There is no unaccompanied leg of the journey.

Group check-in at Gatwick, Monday morning

Staff on board both flights

Handover to parents at Gatwick, Sunday evening

See the full journey timeline →

How we got here

How the programme grew.

Change Your Life began in 2016 and has run continuously since. The Italian residence opened in 2022, a Spanish Centre followed in 2024. The UK is expected to open in 2026.

2016

The start

Change Your Life is founded.

2022

Italian Centre

Il Borgo del Monte Antico becomes the permanent Italian residence.

2024

Spain

The cohort became genuinely international. The second centre goes live.

2024

International UK editions

First British cohort joins the International Editions in Italy.

Next - exp. 2026

A UK Centre

A dedicated UK venue. When the right place is found, we will run editions there.

Questions about the Borgo or the journey?

Speak to Diana, our UK parent contact. She handles enquiries from British families and can walk you through the estate, the travel logistics, and what a week at the Borgo actually looks like.

Discover more →

Axel Rombaldoni

The son of an artist, Axel started playing chess at the age of 4. His career is marked by success, earning the title of Grandmaster in 2013 and becoming the Italian Chess Champion in 2014. He was trained by Filippo Rossi and specialized in Communication and NLP, creating an ambitious project primarily aimed at young people called "Educate with Chess," using the game of chess as an educational and personal growth tool. After many years of study and research, Axel has deepened his knowledge of how the human mind works, and he is now sharing this knowledge in Italy and Europe through the programs offered by "Change Your Life Academy."

Mattia Francesco Rossi

At the age of just 6, Mattia Francesco Rossi embarked on an extraordinary journey into the world of personal growth thanks to the teachings passed on by his father, Filippo Rossi. He has attended courses at international universities such as Michigan State University, Imperial College London, and the University of California, where he delved into NLP, emotional intelligence, neurobiology, creative thinking, and applied problem-solving. He participated in the Professional Master Training and is now an instructor for the Change Your Life Academy programs in Italy and Europe.

Giacomo Gregori

A psychologist specialised in Learning Disabilities (SLD), Giacomo is responsible for the tutors of the "Change Your Life Academy" courses. With a deep understanding of cognitive challenges, he uses his background in psychology to personalize learning strategies so that each participant can get the most out of the program. As international instructor, he now travels across Europe teaching evolutionary strategies to adults and young people of all ages, sharing how to unlock their talents and achieve extraordinary results in every area of their lives.

Sharon Rombaldoni

Already an instructor of the "Meditation of Presence" and "Communicating with Children and Teens" courses, Sharon later became a teacher of the experiences offered by "Change Your Life Academy." Today, she meets hundreds of new people each month and is committed to the "AND Academy" project, aimed at developing a new educational model to be offered to all teachers and students of the third millennium.

Anna Conte

With a degree in Political Science, International Relations, and Human Rights from the University of Padua, Anna is the Lead Instructor of the courses developed by Change Your Life Academy. Her continuous studies on the functioning of the human mind and advanced learning methods have allowed her to achieve excellent results in her academic work. Today, she helps hundreds of students and professionals each year to transform their approach to work and life.

Filippo Rossi

During his academic years, Dr. Rossi obtained all the major national and international certifications in the fields of communication, organization, and business strategy. He created the system of techniques that form the foundation of the "Change Your Life Academy" and is responsible for the "AND Academy" Project, where teachers from across Europe work together, study, and share the best learning methods and educational models, which will later be divulged for free in schools worldwide at all levels.