The F. Di Cataldo prison, located in the historic San Vittore complex, is a structure meant at hosting mainly people awaiting trial, coming from freedom or transferred to Milan for trial-related reasons. Therefore, the prison is subject to rapid rotation of inmates, with important consequences in terms of internal relational dynamics and social isolation. At the same time, connections with the surrounding context are very limited due to the intrinsic characteristics of prisons as secluded entities.

Off Campus San Vittore has been activated within the prison as a tool to build new knowledge about places of detention and bring the prison closer to the city and vice versa. There are various directions of work currently being pursued: design of new narrative tools of prison reality, aimed at dismantling stereotyped pictures that undermine the possibility of dialogue with the outside world; analysis models for the study of nodes, links and interactions, and encouraging the participation of prisoners and operators in internal social life; the architectural project as a tool for exploring the space of the prison and its living conditions. More recently, the research approach tends to promote actions outside the prison environment, still aimed at addressing issues related to the prison itself, detention and their relationship with external society and the city. The research and designing activities are accompanied by seminars, lessons, cultural and educational activities also promoted by students and inmates.

Off Campus San Vittore also hosts the Legal Clinic promoted by the Bocconi University and the University of Milano-Bicocca.