Back In 1929, the University of Western Australia (UWA) became the first Australian university to appoint a professor of Italian, Francesco Vanzetti. Vanzetti, from Venice, was a true pioneer for the Italian language in Western Australia. When he reached retirement age, he lobbied for the University to create a full Italian department and refused to retire until his dream was realised. 20 years later, the University finally fulfilled his wishes and he retired at the age of 85.

Tucked away in the heart of Melbourne’s Carlton is a very special and unique place. It’s where many gather to reflect, others flock for support and guidance, and droves go to challenge themselves and enrich their lives with new cultural and linguistic endeavours. I am of course speaking of the Education Department of CO.AS.IT., comprising the Resource Centre and the Museo Italiano.

At Brunswick South Primary school, the children are not ‘taught’ Italian, they simply use the language to learn 50% of their curriculum. The school has been running a bilingual program since 2017. One unseasonably cold, windy spring morning, we took the opportunity to get to know some of these students, Melbourne’s future Italian speakers, and find out some of their favourite things about Italy, Melbourne, and life.

Boxing was once very popular amongst Italians and notably children of Italian migrants, who took to the sport as a way to build their confidence and self-defence skills. Many Italians punched their way to the top and made their mark in the boxing realm. We looked back on some of the most famous Italian boxers.

One of the biggest horse races in the world, let alone Australia, the 2019 Melbourne Cup took place earlier this month. True to form, the race that stops the nation gave us plenty of action, drama and reasons to celebrate (especially if you backed the right horse!). (Above: Dunaden and Fiorente, 2013 Melbourne Cup - Photo by Chris Phutully)

Alfredo Malabello, many thanks for taking time out to see me. You are a fascinating and impressive man with many strings to your bow and balls in the air. You have built a name for yourself as a musician/pianist, singer and all-round entertainer ̶ with a “voice of romance”. An icon in the Australian music industry, you feature heavily in the media and have been called “Australia’s very own Italian son of song”

Seductive, courageous, and at times heartbreakingly honest, sell-out crowd-pleaser show La Nonna is an intimate portrayal of a young man’s journey to self-discovery benefitted by his close bond with his Italian grandmother, or nonna, and their cross-generational dialogue.

The evening of 4 September, 2019, saw the CO.AS.IT hosting of a Q&A event on Italian Matriarchy and Queerness: Exploring La Nonna, where director, performer and human rights activist Samuel Dariol engaged in conversation with renowned Deakin University scholar Dr Maria Pallotta-Chiarolli.

For the past three months I feel I have walked a very special journey with Gradi Group. Johnny Di Francesco and his team were on a mission to find three talented nonni, with whom they could build the exclusive ‘Piatti dei Nonni’ menu. (Photo Johnny Di Francesco with nonna Elena and family)

‘Italians love to celebrate, it’s in our blood, life is a celebration. We have forgotten this in many ways; it is part of our rich inheritance to celebrate. When we sit with our families across the table, time stands still. It teaches us that this is where the heart of the table is’. International Sicilian chef, Carmela D’Amore.

I recently chatted with Gianni Vitellone, Director of Pronto Travel/Vita Italian Tours in Collingwood, about his life and love of all things Italian. (Photo Wide Shut Photography)

Stephen Cuttriss has been praised by the media as one of “Australia’s heavyweight tango musicians” and a bandoneon player who “ignites the sonic soundscapes of Argentina on this unique instrument. He explores the roots of both urban tango and rich rural folk traditions" - Photo Stephen Cuttriss (with kind permission by Stephen Cuttriss)

If family is the beating heart of the Italian home, then the grandparents, i nonni, are the enduring soul. I chatted with restaurateur and former World Pizza Champion Johnny Di Francesco about one special relationship in his life; that which he shares with his beloved nonna. 93 year old, Angela Mandarano, who still lives independently at home, holds a very special place in Johnny’s heart. (Photo Melissa Cowen)

An aficionado of Italian arts and culture as well as a regular Segmento event attendee, Italo-Australian writer and teacher, producer and filmmaker Vita Catalano is a woman and force to be reckoned with.

The story of a Victorian country girl of Italian descent who is developing a career as a professional player in women’s Australian football and is a staunch promoter of gender equality in all sports. (Photo Ksenia Belova)

According to the website emigrati.it, for every one hundred Italians living in Italy, there are another seven living abroad. This same source also tells us that of the four million Italian citizens spread out across the globe, most are those that have left Italy in the last twenty years. Currently, around 45,000 Italians emigrate per year. (Photo Courtesy of Fabrizio Venturini)

So far, all of my past articles have been surprisingly easy to write. That may be because I’ve been writing about my own experience as part of the Italo-Australian youth, as well as gli italiani anziani, the elderly Italians (or Nonni) with whom most of us Italo-Australians grew up with. (Photo Courtesy of Natalie Di Pasquale)

Located on a leafy street in residential South Yarra, the Italian Institute of Culture (Elm Tree House, as it is also known) was purchased by the Italian government in 1974. The building rests on centuries of local and international history alike. Built in 1857, throughout the decades this imposing house has accommodated notable Australians and Italians carrying out cultural as well as political functions.

CO.AS.IT. Melbourne the main Italian welfare and cultural organisation of Australia has turned fifty. The anniversary was celebrated last September with a number of events and a social gathering at The Docklands.

When I ask my students at Monash why they are studying Italian, many of them reply ‘because of my Nonni’. Many of them have in fact learnt to speak (or at least understand) some Italian, while talking to their grandparents, who usually migrated to Australia in the 1950s and 1960s.

I recently found myself at a checkout with my crying 10-week-old son. I spoke to the cashier in English then tended to my son in Italian, soothing him and using diminutive Italian forms of his name.

In his 1964 masterpiece The Italians, Luigi Barzini, in his infinite wisdom and acute social awareness, states: “In the heart of every man, wherever he is born, whatever his education and tastes, there is one small corner that is Italian”. What else could explain your need to pick up this edition of Segmento? Everyone can connect with, even in the smallest way, the Italian way of life, culture and language.

On a recent trip to the US I was humbled to explore Ellis Island’s National Museum of Immigration. The harsh conditions of the New York winter melted away as I stepped inside the warm and welcoming lobby. After catching my breath, I stopped to admire the world I had stepped into. Millions of hopeful immigrants had to withstand gruelling transit conditions with no guarantee of security in the US.

ALTO is the name of a business and social network created by a group of second-generation Italian-Australians who take pride in their Italian identity and bring it into play in their business dealings and social relations. They are the torchbearers of a transformed Italian culture in Australia that has come a long way from the experience of their parents.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE ABRUZZO CLUB? “The club is not just a committee, the various subcommittees, the volunteers and staff; the Club is all of us! It is for you, for your family, for your children and friends.”

It is eleven o’clock and I am smoking a cigar on the busy waterfront of my hometown. On the seashore a father and son are sharing the son’s exciting experience of fishing.

At a recent funeral for a respected elderly family member I got to thinking that as more and more of that wave of Italian post-war migrants die off, our current lifestyle threatens the traditional view of what it means to be the sons and daughters of Italian immigrants to Australia.