Exploring the history of Italian food in Melbourne by foot

Now, those with itchy feet can become tourists in their own city, thanks to Melbourne-based food historian, Tania Cammarano.

In collaboration with CO.AS.IT., Cammarano has organised a walking tour that explores the history of Italian food in Melbourne.

Entitled ‘Romance and Glamour, Migrants and Mavericks’, the walk will take place on two Saturdays over the coming months: September 4 and November 6 (COVID-19 restrictions permitting).

Starting at the Royal Exhibition Building and taking participants through the CBD and into the beating heart of the Italian community, Carlton, the leisurely walk will show Melburnians a completely different side to their city.

Cammarano will leverage her expertise to explain how the food of widely despised and distrusted migrants became arguably Australia’s favourite cuisine, as well as how Renaissance architecture, wartime internment, espresso bar scandals and Sophia Loren played a part.

With a wealth of knowledge under her belt, Cammarano is the perfect person for the job.

Born to Italian migrants from Sicily and Campania, she developed a deep interest in her parents’ homeland and cuisine at the age of 16, when she savoured the creamy notes of authentic buffalo mozzarella on her first trip to Italy.

Her newfound passion later evolved into her profession.

Prior to embarking on an academic career, Cammarano wrote about food for News Limited and Australian Associated Press, among other media corporations.

She was also the founding editor of taste.com.au.

While at the helm of the popular food and recipe website, she decided to complete her Masters of Gastronomy at the University of Adelaide.

“That’s when I realised I was really interested not just in recipes and cooking but also in how culturally important food is and how it says so much about who we are,” she said.

After going on to complete her PhD, which focuses on the history of Italian food in Australia, Cammarano is currently a lecturer in the food studies and gastronomy program at William Angliss Institute.

Drawing on her original research and some serious sleuthing, Cammarano is eager to tell the fascinating and largely overlooked story of how ideas of Italy influenced the acceptance of Italian food in Australia.

“In looking at the history of the way Italian food was marketed, I came to see that it wasn’t just about the food; in fact, it was these ideas of Italy that Anglo-Australians had had since colonisation,” she explained.

“These early ideas went beyond food – they were about Italian history, architecture, fashion and material culture, like Vespas.”

Cammarano added that the influence of Italian culture is embedded in Melbourne’s landscape, sometimes in the most obvious and overlooked places.

“One of these places is the Royal Exhibition Building; its dome is so clearly linked to Italian Renaissance architecture,” she said.

“Another place we’ll go to is the old Faraday Street movie theatre, which kind of disappeared in 1999.

“We’ll stop at the theatre and talk about the impact of Italian popular culture in Australia, for example, movies starring Sophia Loren and Gina Lollobrigida.

“It’s a really nice way of getting people to understand how Italian culture was spread in Australia and how Italian food was linked to it.”

Myths will be busted and mysteries uncovered as participants meet some of the migrant visionaries and mavericks who paved the way for Italians and their food to become the mainstream mainstays of multiculturalism.

“A lot of people don’t know that we’ve had Italian food in Australia since the 1800s,” Cammarano said.

“There’s this idea that Italian food didn’t come until the post-World War II migration wave; that’s one of the myths that I’d like to blow apart on the walk.”

Cammarano added that the biggest myth busted on the tour is that Australians discovered Italian cuisine by seeing Italian migrants eating and drinking and deciding to give it a go.

“The thing that upsets me about this popular narrative is that it ignores the agency of Italian migrants,” she said.

“They didn’t just sit back and wait to be discovered by Australians; they did the work and actively went out and marketed and promoted their food.”

Some of the destinations on the walk are unexpected, while the stories behind them are enthralling.

Cammarano will lead participants to what seems like just a “warehouse in a dingy lane” on the surface.

“Here, I’ll tell a story about a group of Italian migrants who published what I came to understand in my research as Australia’s first Italian cookbook,” she said.

“We’ll talk about the book, which was published in 1937, and bring along some biscuits made from a recipe the book, which we’ll enjoy with some local coffee.”

The three-hour walk will culminate in a vino, antipasto and debriefing at one of Carlton’s historic cafes.

Cammarano hopes the walk will put a spring in Melburnians’ step amid what has been a challenging chapter of our city’s history.

“Anyone who’s interested in understanding more about their society and culture would enjoy it,” she concluded.

“Come along and see your own city in a different way.”

For more information or to register, visit CO.AS.IT.’s website.