The identity aspect of the Papal College is in fact guaranteed by the concern to introduce young people to a knowledge of the world, of life and of man, in which the spiritual dimension finds its place.

Recurrences such as Christmas and Easter are emphasized with significant meetings that help students to reflect on issues such as solidarity with poor countries, the suffering of peoples at war, etc...

Collegio Papio was founded in 1584 by Cardinal Carlo Borromeo thanks to a legacy bequeathal by Bartolomeo Papio, a patrician from Ascona who went Rome. The centuries-old history of the College has been very eventful; many different religious orders have succeeded each other in its running over the years, the last of which were the Benedictines of Einsiedeln (1924-1964) who ended the long papal era. In fact, in 1965, the College passed to the Diocese of Lugano.

The origins of the present scholastic structure date back to the 1920s, when the Benedictine Fathers of Einsiedeln gave new impetus to the College and succeeded in obtaining the organisation of the Federal Secondary School ("Matura") Examination in Locarno.

Currently the Collegio Papio has an equalized middle school and a high school that prepares for the Swiss Baccalaureate Examination. For some years now, it has also been offering a preparation course for the Passerella exam, aimed at students who have obtained the Professional Maturity Certificate and intend to continue their studies at university. The College also offers a personalized curriculum for talents, be they sportsmen, musicians or others.

The only school in Canton Ticino to offer both male and female internships, the College has extended its schedule in recent years to also cover weekends, thus meeting the needs of the growing number of foreign students. In addition to the ancient parts of the structure, the Renaissance cloister and the seventeenth-century garden, the Collegio has added modern facilities for the benefit of students including a swimming pool, gym and technologically advanced science laboratory classrooms.

The educational vanguard of the College is guaranteed not only by a qualified and continuously trained teaching staff, but also by a good supply of scientific and computer instruments and an exclusive range of offers: early English at the Middle School, language exchanges at private schools in the French and German-speaking area, international language certificates, participation in study weeks organized by the Science and Youth Foundation, Kangourou mathematics competitions, etc..

An offer, therefore, that stimulates talent, but also supported by support tools such as assisted studies, the time of introduction to the study and the Tutor in ninth grade.

The Collegio Papio Foundation, established in 2008, guarantees the management of the company with careful financial, marketing and scholarship management, which ensures that families with low incomes also attend the Collegio.

Particular attention is paid to the management of the staff; periodic individual interviews are aimed at fostering individual development and the consequently enrichment of the group.

The Foundation is also engaged in infrastructure improvement; the start of the next school year will see the opening of the New Wing comprising kitchen and canteen facilities.