A supervised residential study week in Italy for students aged 10 to 17.

Valentina Martinelli

Named DSL — the single point of authority for any concern, with Anna Conte as Deputy DSL. Every staff member reports directly to her, the same day.

A child’s safety always comes first

A child’s safety always comes first. Confidentiality matters, but it is never absolute if a child may be at risk.

Staff are known, trained and vetted

Residential staff are known to CYL before they join a UK edition, and complete the criminal-record checks required for their role. UK-based staff complete DBS checks; Italian staff are checked through the Casellario Giudiziale, the Italian equivalent of the DBS check. All checks are reviewed annually.

A defined triage protocol

Every concern is triaged — Mild, Significant, or Immediate Danger — with a defined action chain ending at the DSL the same day. Staff do not investigate concerns independently.

Code of Conduct, signed

Private messaging between staff and students during the programme is prohibited. One-to-one conversations happen in open, visible spaces. Every staff member signs the Code of Conduct on appointment.

Named contacts, both sides

Mattia Francesco Rossi is the named UK operational contact on site. Diana Mancigotti handles UK parent enquiries off-site. The local emergency chain — 118 medical, 112 police, police of Varzi — is documented on site.

6 residential days

Six days at Borgo del Monte Antico, with staff present throughout. Your child will work on books of their choosing, in small international groups, with instructors alongside them across the week. Mornings are dedicated to focus and presence practices, and in the afternoons, they learn the Three-Dimensional reading method. Evenings are spent with the group. By Wednesday, most students naturally begin to find their own rhythm without needing constant guidance.

The consolidation

A week alone isn’t enough. Coming home, the method needs reinforcement against the routines that were there before. For four weeks, the child can schedule online sessions with the tutors, set practical assignments and receive customised feedback — so what was learned in Italy gets used at home, on next term’s homework. Most parents notice the difference within this period.

Ongoing tutoring

The questions do not always come during the week itself. They often appear later, during a difficult term, before GCSE exams, or when a student is making decisions about university. The tutors remain reachable afterwards by 1:1 sessions on Google Meet, email or message. Many students come back again as staff member. Some stay in contact for years.

Students use books of their choosing. They learn how their mind works and how to focus, and as a natural result, they begin to read significantly faster. However, the real aim is deeper attention, stronger comprehension, greater confidence, and most importantly, a genuine joy for learning.

CYL calls this Three-Dimensional Reading. The method works with reading, concentration, and the role of the body while studying. It is a neuro-educational method, not speed reading.

Since 2016, the method has been taught to more than 10,000 students across six European countries. Its scientific basis is set out in a paper by the founder, Filippo Rossi, for The Bridge TTMT.

Each morning begins with Qi Gong and the Meditation of Presence, before any reading takes place. The aim is simple. To help the body settle, and to make attention easier to find.

Qi Gong is twenty minutes of slow, deliberate movement coordinated with the breath. The aim is to help students develop sensitivity, presence, and attention through every gesture, while learning how conscious breathing can improve focus, regulate emotions, and create mental clarity.

Meditation of Presence is the next step. Twenty minutes of sitting and attending — no mantras, no spiritual framework, no asking the mind to be empty. Just the practice of noticing what is happening, gently, again and again. It is the foundation of attention. And attention is the foundation of everything else this week tries to teach. The practice is secular and provides students with a way to re-centre their attention whenever it drifts.

Some students continue using these exercises at home. Often it is in small moments: on a bedroom floor, before homework, or in the few minutes before an exam.

The food at the Borgo is part of the programme. 100% Italian, of high quality, and largely self-produced: vegetables and herbs come from our own greenhouses, fruit from the orchard, eggs from the henhouse on site. The bread, the pasta, the seasonal vegetables — all prepared in the residence kitchen, by the staff, every day.

This is not a hotel buffet. It is four real meals a day, eaten together at proper tables, with what the season offers. Children who arrive picky leave eating tomatoes, oranges, focaccia, soups they would have refused at home a week earlier. Some parents tell us those habits continue at home.

Allergies and dietary requirements (vegetarian, gluten-free, lactose-free) are confirmed in writing before the programme begins, and accommodated in full.

In how they study and use their phones

Parents often notice less resistance around homework within a few weeks of returning home. Students use the method with their own schoolbooks, sometimes without being reminded. Some parents also notice less phone checking during study time.

In how they handle pressure

Exam periods are still demanding. What parents describe is a change in how their child approaches them. They read with more focus, comprehend the page, and spend less time rereading due to worry.

In how they see themselves

Confidence is the change parents mention most. It is usually quiet. A student returns to school, homework, and decisions with a little more trust in what they can manage.

The friendships

Students from the UK spend the week with young people from Italy, Spain, France, and other countries. Some of those friendships continue after the week ends.

Travel

Students meet at London Gatwick on Monday morning and fly to Milan accompanied by named CYL staff who travel both ways with the group. From Milan, a coach transfers the group to the Borgo. Return flights and 20–23 kg checked baggage are included in the programme fee.

Communication during the week

Students keep their own phones throughout the week and can call home during free time. From day one, parents are added to a dedicated WhatsApp group: every evening, a video summary of the day is shared, so families can see what’s been happening.

The team on site

A team of CYL instructors and resident staff is present 24 hours a day for the duration of the programme. The UK parent contact is reachable by WhatsApp throughout the week if a question comes up.

The residence

The Borgo del Monte Antico is a residential property dedicated to CYL programmes. Three meals a day are prepared on site. Allergies and dietary requirements are confirmed in writing before the programme begins.