When Mauro returned to Palermo, he sold the restaurant he managed with his partner, and applied for an Australian business visa.

He moved to Melbourne and, in 2009, he took over a small Japanese restaurant in Manchester Lane, which only had a seating capacity of 10.  

Thus began the first chapter of Maccaroni Trattoria, where Mauro and Alessandra now prepare traditional dishes from the great Italian gastronomic repertoire.

After Davide’s working holiday visa expired, he returned to Italy and started working as a flight attendant – first with a European airline, and then with Emirates – and since 2011, he has been based in Dubai.

On board a flight, Davide met Rita, a colleague, and the two fell in love.

They married, and continued to fly around the world, often returning to Melbourne, where the Bisignano family could enjoy each other’s company for a few days.

Meanwhile, Mauro expanded Maccaroni Trattoria, adding a room and increasing the number of seats to 30.

After five years of working as flight attendants, Davide and Rita started to think about moving to Australia.

Their decision to migrate to Melbourne coincided with Mauro’s separation from Alessandra, who still runs Maccaroni Osteria, in Clifton Hill – another restaurant the couple opened during their time together.

Davide and Rita took over the management of Maccaroni Trattoria, which had expanded yet again, taking over another two spaces.

Today, Maccaroni Trattoria is an institution among Italian restaurants, with 100 seats and a wood-burning oven for pizzas.

Davide and Rita had trouble obtaining a visa, and as they waited for such a long time, they began to think about their other options.

Rita had started work as a flight attendant again, for Etihad, based in Abu Dhabi, when their visas finally arrived – at the same time as the COVID-19 outbreak.

Rita was stuck in the United Arab Emirates while Davide remained in Melbourne.

The two have not been able to see each other for over a year and a half, but they will finally be able to hug one another again, when Rita makes a stopover in Sydney.

Maccaroni Trattoria has continued to grow, under the management of Davide and his brother Gabriele, with Mauro looking after the administrative side of the business, and now includes an in-house pizzeria and gnocchi bar.

Gnocchi stuffed with gorgonzola, speck, walnuts and sage, on the menu at Maccaroni Trattoria

Samantha Latina runs the kitchen, a young head chef who started in the restaurant years ago, as a dishwasher on a working holiday visa.

She now manages the entire kitchen – a testament to her determination and skill.

Her menu offers a great variety of pastas and pizzas, with a focus on gnocchi, served in all sorts of sauces, with many vegan options.

All the options are delicious: the gnoc gnoc stuffed with Asiago cheese and parmesan, cooked with speck and gorgonzola; the gnocchi Bronte, served with pistachio pesto, pancetta, ricotta and parmesan; the gnocchi made with pumpkin or beetroot; and the gnocchi alla sorrentina.

Among the second courses, the stand out dishes are the guazzetto di pesce and the ragù di carne, with polenta.

Maccaroni Trattoria offers all the classic pizza options: from rocket and prosciutto to capricciosa, pear and gorgonzola, and friarelli with sausage.

The cuisine is typically Italian, with strong Sicilian influences, and the staff comprises servers from Italy, India, Iran, France, Mexico, Germany, Colombia, Brazil, Pakistan and Mongolia.

In short, if you don’t speak English or Italian, you could receive helpful suggestions on dishes to order, or be wished buon appetito in at least 10 other languages.