• Painting with Stone: The Story of the Melocco Brothers

Painting with Stone: The Story of the Melocco Brothers

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by Zeny Edwards; Executive editor, Victoria Hynes

The work of Melocco Bros is embedded in the architecture of Australia. In mosaic, terrazzo, sgraffito, scagliola and many derivations of this ancient art, these exotic terms are presented in stunning images as the story unfolds about how three extraordinary brothers
who migrated from a small village in northern Italy to Sydney made their mark in history, painting with stone.

In 1908, with nothing more than their talent and the indomitable desire to succeed, Peter, Antonio, and Galliano Melocco founded a business that would redefine their adopted city.

Speaking through the language of stone, each inanimate piece of their tesserae ‘earth’ enriched Australia’s architecture and elevated it from beyond architecture to the realm of art. Astonishingly, ninety per cent of the marble, scagliola, and terrazzo work in hundreds
of Sydney’s public buildings up to the 1960s bear the handiwork of Melocco craftsmen.

Despite the ubiquity of the Melocco Bros’ work, detailed acknowledgement of their achievements has been lacking until now. In Painting with Stone, architectural historian Zeny Edwards rectifies this gap and shows that these three brothers were masters of innovation and craftsmanship who have long deserved special recognition in Australia’s architectural history.

Painting with Stone includes photographs by Eric Sierins, a Master architectural photographer based in Sydney with over 35 years of experience. He worked at Max Dupain & Associates until 2012 and now is the holder of the Max Dupain archives.

Thanks to your support we can continue our mission to actively conserve and protect our natural, cultural, social and Indigenous heritage for future generations to enjoy.

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