In September of 2000, I traveled to Florence, Italy to spend three months studying abroad through the Stanford University in Florence program. My coursework included an independent study project in design under the direction of Professor David Kelley in Stanford's Design Devision. My desire was to study current day practice in Italian design; since much of my work had been in the area of multimedia and digital art, I was interested in seeing the Italian approach to multimedia.   By a stroke of luck, I was introduced to Angela Pagani Donadelli, the sole administrator of an Italian leader in interactive multimedia, International Multimedia Titles (I.M.T.), and her daughter Valentina. I.M.T. shares Italy's cathedral treasures through CD-Roms, DVDs, and other interactive medium.   I spent one day at the I.M.T. office in Milan discussing I.M.T.'s vision, philosophy, and design process. It was an extremely valuable exploration into how another culture views the role of multimedia in today's world, as well as similairities and differences in their design process compared to what I was learning at Stanford.   The staff of I.M.T., (shown here), has created beautiful CD-Roms of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, the Duomo in Milan, and the Santa Maria del Fiore, the cathedral in Florence. The CD-Rom exploiring Florence's cathedral premiered in the Baptistry of on November, 2000. As a student of Stanford in Florence, I was invited to attend the premiere.   Sitting in the beautiful Baptistry and watching a huge screen of this multimedia work of art was an amazing experience. Furthremore, the Archdiocese of Santa Maria del Fiore opened the Baptistry's east doors for the guests to use for the evening, doors which are usually closed. According to historians, Michelangelo described the east doors as so beautiful they were worthy to be called "The Gates of Paradise". Just walking through these doors was a rare treat. The following write-up reflects my interview with Ms. Donadelli and her daughter Valentina, who works along side her in the creation of these digital masterpieces. Back to the top