Virtual reality in Italy in the early Nineties

Abstract

The question of virtual reality first reached attention in Italy in 1990 with the Mondi Virtuali (Virtual Worlds) conference, curated by Maria Grazia Mattei at Palazzo Fortuny. The artists tackling this subject included significant figures in the Italian electronic art scene from the previous decade, including Correnti Magnetiche, Giovanotti Mondani Meccanici, Giacomo Verde and Massimo Cittadini, as well as lesser known artists, such as Daniela Bertol and Fabrizio Savi. Although virtual reality invites immersion, in the early 90s the discourse was extended to include interactive works defined as "non-immersive virtual reality”, such as those created with the Mandala System, where interaction happens within a two-dimensional reality. Alongside the translation of a number of key texts (M. Krueger, H. Reinghold), a series of essays on virtual reality also began to be published in Italy (A. Caronia, P. L. Capucci). In 1993, the magazine Virtua’ was founded, engaging with the most recent national and international debates on the subject. In the same year, Correnti Magnetiche created Satori, the first Italian immersive virtual reality work, and the text Per una nuova cartografia del reale was published, announcing the end of the primacy of the image and the rise of the sensory experience. During the middle of the decade, the debate around the virtual moved from questions of immersive and sensory experience to that of communication, embracing the new themes that have arisen from the increasing centrality of the web.