Metadata access to complex information bases through multidimensional dynamic taxonomies (aka faceted search) is rapidly becoming a hot topic both in research and in industry, where e-commerce applications based on this access paradigm are becoming pervasive. The dynamic taxonomy model was the first model to fully exploit multidimensional classification schemes and to integrate query and exploration into a single visual framework. We review a number of research results in data modeling, implementation, user interaction and emerging application areas of dynamic taxonomies and faceted search, originating from the Department of Informatics, University of Torino.