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Vittoria Melia remembers vividly the sight of Rottnest Island heralding the end of her 22-day journey from Bivongi, Calabria to Fremantle in 1963.
The trip was long and her daughter, Claudia, had been sick. When Claudia’s father came to greet them at the port, having left for Australia some nine or 10 months earlier, Claudia – then about two years old – wasn’t sure who he was.
Vittoria and Claudia Melia in front of a photo of themselves (Claudia being carried, front, with Vittoria walking behind) at the entrance to the From Nonna With Love exhibition.Credit: Cameron Myles
“I didn’t remember him, and I would have been scared,” Claudia says.
“So I have no memory, really of the actual day we arrived, and I don’t have any memory of the voyage, but mum says that I was sick for the whole time.”
“She was seasick the whole way,” Vittoria says.
“[I’d say], ‘let’s go to the lounge’ – ‘no mum, it’s poisoned, the food’, so we lost weight on the ship, because I didn’t have any good lunch or dinner, and we had a little baby.”
But Vittoria wasted no time after landing, straight off to a wedding that night where they were introduced to Perth’s growing Italian community.
“And I find everybody from the Bivongi at that wedding, it was an Italian wedding,” Vittoria laughs.
A photo of Vittoria and Claudia at the end of their journey adorns the entrance to the latest exhibition to open at the WA Maritime Museum.
From Nonna with Love: Stories of Tradition and Triumph charts the tales of the Italian migrants who came to Western Australia between the early 1900s to the 1970s – and, more specifically, the matriarchs who became the backbones of those communities which helped shape the identity of Perth, Fremantle, and the broader state.
Ahead of its time: Anne Ferrari, left, with an early coffee roasting machine.
The exhibition opens on Saturday, but many of the nonnas featured, and their families, got an early look on Wednesday during a tour with curator Nella Fitzgerald.
Among the personal stories told through more than 100 objects on display are famous names in sport, politics – and food.
Anne Ferrari, whose father John Re was behind Northbridge’s famous The Re Store, tells this masthead of the early days of selling coffee roasted and ground in-store – ahead of its time, given the espresso-driven cafe culture which later flourished in Perth.
Maria Pizzale – the owner of classic Fremantle Italian restaurant Capri – has her story told in the exhibition.
Capri Restaurant owner Maria Pizzale and daughter Carla Caravella.Credit: Cameron Myles
Pizzale and her husband Corrado took over the restaurant from Corrado’s father Oddone in the 1960s, and it has remained a testament to traditional Italian cooking on the port city’s cafe strip ever since, its offering largely unchanged except for a recent move to serve alcohol after 71 years of BYO.
Pizzale’s daughter, Carla Caravella, was overcome with emotion when she first saw the display.
“Mrs Ferrari and mum lived a different life, because they were working, they were in the businesses working, and they worked long, hard hours, and so they weren’t in the community socializing quite as much,” Caravella says.
“I don’t have time to have friends,” Pizzale laughs.
“I was too busy, and I raised four children in the Capri Restaurant.”
“This has brought so much emotion forward, because it is such an important part of our history … and it honours all these ladies who are part of this exhibition, because they’ve always been in the background, quietly, just keeping everything going,” Caravella says.
Tony Ricciardello with his wife Carla, children, and mother Maria Ricciardello.
Championship-winning Sports Sedan racer Tony Ricciardello was taken aback by the exhibition charting the accomplishments of his mum Maria Ricciardello alongside his father Basil.
“There’s a lot of emotions happening,” he says.
“We’ve worked together with Nella for quite a few months, putting this together.
“And dad was in the background with me doing it, and he passed away in November, so he didn’t get to see the finished product of something that they both created.”
Maria was always in the background of Tony’s accomplished racing career, described as “the core of the family that kept everyone strong and healthy”.
“That was our picnic for the weekend, we went motor racing as a family; mum was always in the kitchen, cooking the food for the pit crew and the team,” he says.
“And you know, dad was always demanding, not the sausage rolls and stuff – it was pasta and risotto for the pit crew.”
The Ricciardellos aren’t the only famous motorsport family to have links to early Italian migration to Perth; Giuseppina Ricciardo – nonna of F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo – has an exhibit dedicated to her.
The motivation for From Nonna With Love came from conversations Fitzgerald had with her mother about life in Italy during World War II, and the decision to migrate to Australia.
“It’s a tribute to my mother, Angela. But in that tribute, is a tribute to every Nonna and great biznona that is here, both in Italy, Australia and around the world,” she says.
“It also tells the story of extraordinary Italian women who migrated here to Australia … it tells their stories of perseverance, belief and the love that they had to build a family and a wonderful future here for them.”
Also featured are interviews and stories from WA’s political class, with Treasurer Rita Saffioti, Attorney General Tony Buti, and Racing and Gaming Minister Paul Papalia all making an appearance, talking about their family’s history in Australia.
WA Attorney-General Tony Buti in front of an exhibition honouring his grandmother Domenica Buti – complete with South Fremantle Bulldogs scarf and beanie, and Tony’s naval uniform.Credit: Cameron Myles
On Wednesday, Buti got his first look at the exhibit honouring his nonna Domenica Buti – complete with a South Fremantle Bulldogs scarf and beanie.
“The Italian immigration to Western Australia is so important, whether it was in politics, business or culture, so to bring all this history together, I think is a real testament to those that really want to ensure that the next generation of Italians that are born here in Western Australia understand the sacrifices that were made by their ancestors,” Buti says.
From Nonna with Love: Stories of Tradition and Triumph opens at the WA Maritime Museum in Fremantle on Saturday, September 27.
