Il Borgo del Monte Antico, Varzi.
Your child flies out on Monday. They return Sunday evening.
Everything in between happens here.
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.
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.
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.
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.
See the full journey timeline →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.
Change Your Life is founded.
Il Borgo del Monte Antico becomes the permanent Italian residence.
The cohort became genuinely international. The second centre goes live.
First British cohort joins the International Editions in Italy.
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.