On Netflix has arrived Minerva – The School, the new teen drama set in an imaginary military high school in Naples, where discipline, rules, and physical tests push a group of young students to their limits. And it’s precisely in the Portici Palace, which was transformed into Minerva High School for the filming, that we met Ciro Monopoli, Biagio Venditti, and Margherita Buoncristiani, the actors who portray Salvo, Vincenzo, and Camilla. During our meeting, the young actors shared with us the behind-the-scenes of the series and the challenges faced on set—physical trials, emotionally demanding moments, and the need to confront characters who are very different from themselves. An experience that, as their words reveal, pushed them also “out of their comfort zone.” Watch below our exclusive video interview.
Minerva – The School: The Plot
Premiered as a preview at the Giffoni Film Festival 2026, the series, produced by Roberto Sessa for Picomedia (a company of the Asacha group and part of Fremantle) and directed by Ivan Silvestrini, follows the lives of a group of teenagers inside a military high school where the days begin at dawn with the flag-raising and where there are no mobile phones or civilian clothes allowed. Between military tactics, fencing, discipline, and strictly rigid rules, the students are tested both physically and psychologically, gradually discovering facets of themselves they didn’t know existed.
Who are Salvo, Vincenzo, and Camilla, played by Ciro Monopoli, Biagio Venditti, and Margherita Buoncristiani
Among the freshmen are Salvo, Vincenzo, and Camilla. Salvo, portrayed by Ciro Monopoli, comes from a tough corner of Naples’ outskirts and enters Minerva to uncover what happened to his best friend Francesco, who disappeared inside the school. What at first he views as an adversarial institution will, however, become an opportunity for redemption. Vincenzo, played by Biagio Venditti, is the son of a military family and dreams of following in his father’s footsteps. Brilliant, witty, and predisposed to study, he will have to confront being away from home and a fragility that calls his dream into question. It will be the bond with the other students that gives him the strength to move forward. Camilla, portrayed by Margherita Buoncristiani, is a Milanese girl used to a comfortable life and is sent to Minerva by her father, a wealthy industrialist, with the aim of “straightening her out.” What initially seems to her a punishment will become a journey of growth, through new friendships and the discovery of the ability to choose her own future. In a setting that appears to belong to another era, Salvo, Vincenzo, and Camilla will be forced to question their certainties. Minerva will not merely teach them to follow the rules: it will lead them to understand who they truly want to become.
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