The day is stretching on, and a young Pia Miranda really should be getting on with her homework. But instead she’s standing in her Nonna’s kitchen holding a bowl of water over her head.
She waits anxiously as Nonna pours a little oil into the bowl. If the oil doesn’t rise to the top it’s bad news and according to Nonna, Pia and her sister are in serious danger.
If the oil dropped to the bottom then you had a curse. Then they'd have to do lots of prayers.Pia Miranda
You might think this sounds like a scene from the iconic 2000 film, Looking for Alibrandi. But it’s one of the many stories from Pia’s real-life childhood growing up Italian-Australian in suburban Melbourne that would slot right into the film. She still holds tightly to her Italian heritage and traditions.
I still have superstitious fantasies. Or if I drop salt, there's no way I couldn't chuck it over my shoulder.Pia Miranda
Comedian Lizzy Hoo talks to Pia about the links between her actual upbringing and its links to her character in Looking For Alibrandi, the suspicious circumstances of her Nonno's passing, and the stoic attitudes her Italian grandparents adopted after their tumultuous journey to Australia.
LISTEN TO
Sicilian superstition: Pia Miranda remembers her Nonna's rituals and resilience
SBS Audio
27/06/202433:47
Executive Producer: Kellie Riordan
Supervising Producer: Grace Pashley
Producer: Liam Riordan.
Audio editor and sound designer: Jeremy Wilmot.
SBS Audio: Caroline Gates, Joel Supple, and Max Gosford.
Artwork by Universal Favourite.
We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the land on which this show was made.
