Watching Riccardo and Tommaso Zanetti together, it’s immediately apparent how close they are. Then again, the two brothers aged 12 and almost 14 have been through so many adventures together, it must have helped weld their relationship.

Libya, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Australia, the Zanetti family has relocated many times over the years, managing to enjoy quick or extended trips to Italy, where both boys were born.

“Before Covid, we were in Saudi Arabia, where we lived for more than five years,” explains Drusilla Galelli, mother of Tommaso and Riccardo.

“Then, with the outbreak of the pandemic, we were stranded outside the country and returned to Italy, where we lived for a year and a half in Brunico.”

It can’t have been easy to adjust to Italian life and school, away from their father, who remained in Saudi Arabia for work, for ten months.

Last June, Mattia Zanetti, the boys' geologist dad, found a job that would require the family to leave the Dolomites for a new destination: Melbourne.

Australia has given them freedoms they didn't get to experience in the Middle East, but came to appreciate during the months they lived in Brunico.

“In Saudi Arabia we lived in a compound, which, as pleasant and safe as it was, was like living in a bubble,” Galelli admits.

Compounds are typical in Persian Gulf countries where expatriate families, generally Westerners, reside and have access to a range of amenities such as gyms, swimming pools, sports facilities and playgrounds, all close to home.

A very convenient situation if you have young children, as the boys' mom points out.

In Melbourne, Tommaso and Riccardo have begun to rebuild their network of social relationships and continue hobbies they’ve enjoyed for years, as well as cultivate new interests.

Tommaso continues to practice swimming, one of the sports he took up in Saudi Arabia, participating with the school in the 'ACC' competitions organised by the Association of Catholic Colleges of Victoria.

Riccardo, on the other hand, and thanks to his year in Brunico, became interested in climbing and found a gym close to home.

One of the things they seem to particularly enjoy about their new life Down Under is having access to the outdoors.

Together they have found a common interest, thanks to their father and his passion for mountain biking.

“I am the most reckless,” says Riccardo, earnestly.

“Only because my suspension is harder,” retorts his brother, smiling.

Through hills and parks they can enjoy the Australian landscape, while also getting to appreciate encountering local animals.

Riccardo and Tommaso Zanetti at Il Globo

“When we go to Lysterfield Park, we see a lot of kangaroos, and once I was also in front of a snake, it was a red belly,” Riccardo explains.

Joining the family from Italy is their three-year-old Australian Cattle Dog, also known as a ‘Blue Heeler’ like the dog from the popular cartoon Bluey.

They often take him to the beach for a swim.

As they explored new places, sports and interests, the Zanetti brothers began attending high school at Whitefriars College in Donvale, where Tommaso chose Italian as his second language, while Riccardo did not, for this year.

“We keep the language at home, though,” Mom points out, “where we only speak Italian. I'm also trying to insist a bit of reading in the evening and then, once a year, we return to Italy.

“Now we have started the countdown because we are going for a month in June.” 

The entire family remains enthusiastic in their adventure of adapting and getting to know a new place, one that they now call home.