Inside Nonno’s house: A filmmaker’s callout sparks outrage in Italian-Australian households

Italian-built houses in the suburbs are increasingly rare time capsules, preserving a unique piece of Australian housing history..

When Australian film director Frank Lotito put out a call on social media recently in search of a humble Italian-Australian house stuck in time, the response surprised him.

“I didn’t think there were that many,” said Mr Lotito, director of the 2022 film Wog Boys Forever.

From Coburg in Melbourne’s north to Leichhardt in Sydney’s Little Italy and Balcatta in Perth, 1970s and 1980s brick homes with a strong Italian influence still stand, built to last.

The post-WWII migrants from southern Europe who built these urban strongholds were attracted to cheap housing near jobs, reshaping the urban character.

Film director Frank Lotito’s public announcement about the Italian-Australian time-warp home. Photo: Facebook | Frank Lotito

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Sometimes lions’ heads guarded the facades, which were framed in white concrete and curved brick arches. Inside, you’ll find decorative tiles, an orange and brown laminex kitchen (perhaps a second kitchen in the garage) and a formal guest lounge.

But homes in prime condition are becoming rarer as residents move on, younger generations choose to renovate or tear down, and large blocks of flats are carved up amid the suffocating pursuit of life.

For Mr Lotito, who turned to social media to find a typical Italian family home for his film, Nonno, the house needed to feel “lived in and loved”.

Director Frank Lotito and Wog Boys Forever stars Nick Giannopoulos and Vincenzo Colosimo. Photo: Facebook | Frank Lotito

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Based on The Dons by Archie Fusillo, Nonno is a coming-of-age film about a young man and his grandfather, exploring family and generational relationships. Filming begins in April, starring Django legend Franco Nero.

After days of sifting through answers and visits – where nonni greeted him with coffee, biscuits, homemade salami and grappa – he found his palace in the city of dreams in Preston, Melbourne, owned by the mother of his chief producer, Frank Monterosso.

Frank Lotito previews his upcoming film Nonno’s House with cinematographer Craig Barden and set designer Marty Manca. Photo: Facebook | Frank Lotito

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Classic features included a brown brick facade with a front decorated with white balustrades and columns, a 1970s laminex kitchen, beige tiles, shag pile carpet, and amber glass room dividers.

Justin Merendino of Ray White Perth notes similar homes in suburbs such as Balcatta and Stirling.

“Double bricks, columns, lions in front, big iron gates … a sense of pride and wealth in the community for all those Europeans who – let’s be frank – made it difficult to come to another country,” he said.

“All they knew was to work, because most of them were completely uneducated.”

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Many homes are hand-built in the European style – dark wooden staircases, marble tiles and benches – but the younger generations often find them old-fashioned.

“They come in, saying: ‘Oh, the kitchen is old.’ It has brown Jarrah doors but for an Italian in the ’70s, if you had one, you’d win the lotto,” said Mr Merendino.

11 Gertrude Street, Sunshine is described as “every favorite Nonna and Nonno you’ve ever visited” in its listing. Photo: realestate.com.au

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Buyers who can afford these family homes today are modernizing, rather than just moving in. Real-time tablets have been owned by 80-year-olds who have cared for them since they were built, he said.

The Reservoir home went viral last year when it hit the market for its dolphin fountain built by the home’s late owner, Ignazio “Benny” Di Benedetto, who moved from Italy to Australia as a child. Photo: realestate.com.au/sold

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In Sydney’s Leichhardt, the Italianate heritage is deteriorating as the area grows and modern homes replace the older ones, although some buildings remain.

“Depending on the size of the land, it is divided in two, and new duplexes are built, or demolished, and people build new homes,” said James Montano, director at Montano Group Leichhardt.

“They’ve probably gone out of style when they’re actually a desirable home that local people are buying. It’s just an opportunity to want to renovate.”

Bricks, tiles and white concrete columns are a classic feature of Italian-Australian houses of the 70s and 80s. Photo: realestate.com.au/sold

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However, as the original Italian homes are slowly being phased out, stories of Italian-Australian nostalgia are reaching new generations through successful comedy acts like Sooshi Mango and social media accounts like Maddie and Nonna Fina.

Sooshi Mango comedians Joe Salantiri (Johnny), Carlo Salantiri (Vince) and Andrew Manfre (Sam). Photo: Jake Nowakowski

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For Frank Lotito, the main reason why he wanted to make the film Nonno is the desire that people are currently helping.

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And a second kitchen outside the garage. Photo: realestate.com.au

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With life moving fast and a lot happening, these homes represented a time when life was fun, and very easy.

“I feel that if we can capture that, put it in a time capsule, people can go and see that, and it would keep it alive a little bit. It’s sad that some of these houses are going, but I also understand that there are some luxuries that we didn’t have back then that we need these days, like a dishwasher,” he laughed.

“I feel like it’s a shame.”