Waving the flag for Italy is one of our city’s most renowned pasticcerie, T. Cavallaro & Sons.
The store was established in 1956 by Tommaso and Sarina Cavallaro, and has become famous for its signature cannoli among other traditional Italian sweets.
The husband-wife team met in Lipari and migrated to Australia during the post-war era, with Tommaso arriving in 1945 and Sarina and their children joining him in 1951.
The couple seized the opportunity to open their store just in time for the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, and the business has blossomed since day one.
Fifty-six years on, the pasticceria is still going as strong as ever in the capable hands of Tommaso and Sarina’s sons, Carmelo and Tony.
What is the key ingredient to T. Cavallaro & Sons’ enduring success?
To this day, Tony and Carmelo follow traditional family recipes from Lipari dating back to over 130 years ago.
One person who can vouch for this is 21-year-old Monash University student, Joseph Xuereb.
As part of his Arts/Law degree, Joseph is currently undertaking a six-week internship at Co.As.It, working with the Museo Italiano and Italian Historical Society (IHS) to write a research report on Italian migration.
Entitled Community, Culture and Cannoli: Italian Migration to Melbourne’s West, Joseph’s report investigates the evolution of Footscray, reflecting on T. Cavallaro and Sons’ operation within the community over the decades.
Joseph’s decision to focus on the famous pasticceria was inspired by his own family’s migrant story.
“It’s a story that’s very close to my heart because when my mother and grandparents first came here, they had the privilege of meeting Tommaso Cavallaro,” he says.
Joseph’s mother came to Australia with her parents when she was just a young girl.
His nonna Maria originates from Naples, while his nonno Biagio was born in Messina on the island of Sicily.
Before migrating to Melbourne, the family lived in Ercolano, just a few kilometres away from Pompeii.
Soon after arriving in the western suburbs, Joseph’s nonna became a regular face at T. Cavallaro and Sons.
A stay- at-home wife while her husband worked as a teacher, Maria would spend her days cooking and baking Italian specialties.
“She had a tradition of making cannoli because my nonno loved them,” Joseph recalls.
“She would buy the actual pastry for the cannoli and then she’d fill them herself.”
With her regular visits to pick up the pastry shells, Maria got to know the Cavallaro family over the years.
Given the strong ties between his nonna and the pasticceria, Joseph jumped at the chance to delve into the history behind T. Cavallaro and Sons as the basis of his research report.
Drawing on the idea of “the changing face of Footscray”, the report explores how different waves of migrants have contributed to what is now one of Melbourne’s most diverse communities.
“Tony mentioned how much he’s seen the area change, with the Vietnamese influx in the ‘90s, and the more recent migration of Sudanese people following the civil war in Sudan,” Joseph explains.
“There aren’t many suburbs in Melbourne that have seen that much change in demographic within such a short period, and the business really embraced it.”
Director of the IHS and Museo Italiano, Paolo Baracchi - who is also Joseph’s supervisor -has flagged the possibility of the report being published in an edition of the IHS’ biannual journal.
“That would be something I could keep forever and show to my nonna and my mum,” Joseph says.
“My nonno’s not with me today, but it’s something I hope he would be proud of.”
Biagio, after whom Joseph takes his middle name, was an academic himself and spoke several languages.
Unfortunately, Biagio’s qualifications weren’t recognised in his new home of Australia, and while he did eventually become a teacher here, he wasn’t able to teach for as long as he would’ve liked.
As the first member of his immediate family to go to university, Joseph hopes that his tertiary studies and this research report will stand as a lasting tribute to his grandfather.
While a Law degree is more of a lengthy process, Joseph’s Arts degree will be completed once his internship with Co.As.It ends.
A member of the Italian Social Club at both the University of Melbourne and Monash University, Joseph hopes to pursue a career in law upon graduating, incorporating his passion for Italian language and culture into his profession in one way or another.
“Italian identity is something really close to my heart and I hope it stays that way for the rest of my life,” he says.
“Even though I was born in Parkville and I’m very much an Australian citizen, I really do embrace my ties with Italy.”
Regardless of where his career path leads, Joseph can be sure of one thing: he’s an inspiration to all young people of Italian background to engage with their heritage and cherish their connection to the Belpaese.
Aside from his academic report, Joseph has also compiled a short story inspired by his visit to T. Cavallaro & Sons to interview Tony. You can find the story entitled Signor Cavallaro here.
