"You had mentioned that a number of students from around the world come here to learn design from Italians. How do you think the education system is working here now? Is it turning out people who will be able to have a major impact on the world in the future? Or, do you think the education system in Italy is not really working any longer to produce designers who have an impact. "

"Design schools, architecture schools in Milano, maybe Florence, and Roma, maybe Naples. "

(- Alessandro Mendini): "This is a very difficult question, because the schools of design in Italy are very young. The most heroic and important part of our design was in a time when there were not schools of design in Italy. The designers were architects. All of the designers were architects. Zamuso, Sotsass, Gio Ponti, Magistretti, Castiglioni, all architects. Only Enzo Mari started as an architect...*"

"Now, there are a lot of schools, [but] in my opinion, no good schools. They are big. The private and public schools are chaotic places with no good standards in my opinion. "

*Interviewers note: most other famous architects and designers in this period started as theorists.