Homemade lunch at Nonna’s, Italian school on Saturdays, traditions of sauce making season, salami and olive. These are a few of the precious memories each founder and member of VITA share and hold dearly. Although each born in Australia, VITA representatives have Italian background.

Buon appetito, buongiorno, grazie, nonna, nonno, Pasqua, Natale… If you are born into an Italian family in Australia, these words become part of your vocabulary. They were so imbedded in mine as a child, I didn’t realise there was an English equivalent.

The Roman forum was a public space: the key political, ritual and civic center. If I were to compare it to a modern day equivalent in Melbourne, then Cafè Brunetti in Carlton meets the criteria. It is my third year working at Brunetti and it has been more than a part time job while attending university.