Once upon a time in Australia: Maria Teresa e Mario Viganò

Giovanni Cera [far right with mandolin] leading a group of singing waiters at Mario's Restaurant, 198 Exhibition Street Melbourne. Source: Reproduced with permission of Co.As.It. – Italian Historical Society

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Our series dedicated to the Italian-Australian community in the 19th and 20th century remembers in this episode painter Maria Teresa Viganò and her husband, how founded in the 1930s Melbourne's famous restaurant Mario's.

In this podcast Laura Mecca, former director of the Italian Historical Society of Melbourne, tells SBS Italian the story of this extraordinary couple, who made a mark on the hospitality industry and Australian culture as a whole.

Maria Teresa Ferrari was born in Milan in 1884 in a well-to-do family. Aged 27 she migrated alone, an extraordinary fact for a woman at the time, to Canada, where she met and married Mario Viganò, who also came from the Lombardia region.

After WWI the couple moved back to Italy, but, due to Mario’s anti-fascism beliefs they didn't stay there long and after only a few years relocated again from their home country together with their three children.

Australia was their destination of choice, where they arrived in 1928. A few years later they opened Mario's which was soon to become one of the most influential Italian restaurants in the country.

Viganò’s dynasty continued many years later with their grandchildren Patricia e

and their famous restaurant “Mietta’s," located behind the Parliament in Melbourne.