The female who’s who of the Italian business community gathered Wednesday evening 23 October for the launch of the Italian Business Women’s Network, hosted at Ferrari Brisbane.

Italy has again become a country of emigrants. Today, a large number are highly educated people who take their talent abroad in search of better career opportunities and professional benefits. Thirty thousand Italian researchers leave each year, while only three thousand qualified scientists migrate to Italy. In recent years, the media, policymakers and scholars have used the term ‘brain drain’ to describe this phenomenon.

Imagine yourself underwater without breathing. How long could you last? Check the clock... seconds are passing in an extremely slow pace. Or to climb a mountain barefoot, no protection at all, just the steep wall, the heights, the dizziness, and your fingertips bleeding.

There is no doubt that restaurant owner and Pizza Chef Ashlley Walliss is in his element when he’s in the kitchen of his South Fremantle Pizzeria, L’Antica.

The man sat in front of me, coffee in hand, is not the man I have seen in action. Today he is poised, articulate and composed. With grace and unabridged honesty he recounts the ups and downs of his life journey. So far, in all my encounters with him, I have been his audience: I sit gripped, hanging on to every word.

Daniele Ciurleo-Larubina’s essence of his mastery lies in the seemingly effortless ability to transition from musician to composer, from arranger to conductor.

I miss it. I really miss that feeling of wandering around, as I used to do in my home country, stopping, as soon as I’d get peckish, for a quick bite & chat at one of my favourite street food traders, no matter the time. No need to sit down nor spend a fortune for a snack on the run that can easily turn into a main meal, and only for a couple of bucks!

A natural talent for defining new and old spaces, Tommaso Spinzi is an Italian-born interior designer and owner of Melbourne-based company Spinzi Design. After ending his academic career with a Diploma in Surveying, Tommaso worked in the construction industry before moving to Lugano, Switzerland, to collaborate with a prestigious architect studio.

For those who grew up hearing the iconic song for Coppa Del Nonno’s commercial, “Joy, I feel good, I feel fine”, Gisella Cozzo’s voice might already be endeared to those childhood memories and fondness for ice cream.