Snobbish, unloving, privileged, ignorant. Nine editions of "Collegio" and the same old story: when you see them for the first time, it's inevitable, you can't stand them. This time around is no exception, but once again, one episode—let's say two—is enough to shake off your first impressions, grow fond of them, and, why not, cry with these eighteen kids.
The choice
Eight of the twelve episodes of Rai's program Contenuti Digitali e Transmediali, produced in collaboration with Banijay Italia, are available online on the RaiPlay platform. After initial experiments on RaiDue, it became clear to Viale Mazzini that there was no need to occupy a space in traditional programming for a product that speaks primarily to the very young, those who barely know what the strange black box their parents stare at in their living rooms is, who have no idea what it means to wait to be able to watch something at a specific time on a specific day. But is that idea so crucial? Not if you're an audience that remains curious, active, and capable of recognizing themselves in the stories of their peers.
Italy '90
This time, the teenagers locked up at the Mario Pagano National Boarding School in Campobasso, including seventeen-year-old Jacopo Vacca from Ovodda, were catapulted back to 1990: the year of the final collapse of the Soviet bloc, the release of Nelson Mandela, the unforgettable 1990 World Cup, the year of perpetually plugged-in Walkmans and home-recorded cassettes, hair-pulling boy bands, and Madonna's voguing. The young boarders—forced to abandon smartphones, makeup, earrings, and trendy clothes—were confronted with strict rules and a lunar rhythm compared to their digital daily routines.
The team
Guiding them on a journey that is anything but simple is the inimitable principal Paolo Bosisio and a teaching staff that combines established figures with new talents: Andrea Maggi, Italian and civics teacher; Maria Rosa Petolicchio, math and science teacher; David. W Callahan, English teacher; Alessandro Carnevale, art teacher; and Luca Raina, history and geography teacher. Three newcomers: Giusi Serra, music teacher; Lucia Bello, physical education teacher; and Dr. Monica Calcagni, a surgeon specializing in obstetrics and gynecology, who encourages them to take their first steps in sexual education. Narrated by Pierluigi Pardo and constantly encouraged to reveal their own fragilities, the eighteen protagonists (some sooner, some later) end up giving in, removing the masks they entered with, and venting misunderstandings and deep pain, so real they hurt at any age : there's Mariama, who still bursts into tears when she remembers a beating she suffered months ago; Simona, abandoned by her mother; Diego, the geek who's a point of reference for all his classmates; Elisa, the daughter of a woman with Alzheimer's; Azzurra, who can no longer hug her mother; Luca, whose part of his Ukrainian family is living under the bombs.
The tears
And then there's Sardinian Jacopo, shy and reserved: a great lover of folk music and a friend of his donkey Zineddu, in one essay he vents his grief over the loss of his beloved paternal grandmother: "That empty chair always weighs a little more." In "Collegio," there's room for reflections on war, indifference, betrayal, but also for lightheartedness: first kisses, the school dance, rebellions. Thus confirming itself as a television phenomenon capable of a small miracle: episode after episode , it questions adults and brings them closer to a generation that, more than ever in this rapidly changing world, seems unreachable. And yet it's there, ready to open up, to remind us that yes, we've all been there, and yes: being 15 in 2025 is not easy.
