Painting With Stone:
The Story of the Melocco Brothers
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.
Sydneysiders might have booked a train ticket amidst the mural frieze and terrazzo mosaic floor at Central Station, shopped at the marbled David Jones and Mark Foys, or transacted amidst the gleaming columns of the Commonwealth Bank at Martin Place, or the Bank of New South Wales in George Street.
On the weekend, they might have marvelled at the magnificent Tasman Map in the entrance foyer of the Mitchell Library or silently contemplated the heroic exploits of the Anzacs in the Anzac Memorial in Hyde Park. Others would have been awed by the extraordinary mosaic and terrazzo crypt under St Mary’s Cathedral and in the evenings, entertained in the glorious picture palace of the State Theatre.
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.
This history project was initiated by Victoria Hynes, an arts writer and editor of 25 years and granddaughter of Peter Melocco, with the support of the Consulate General of Italy Sydney and Co.As.It. Sydney.
About the author
Zeny Edwards is an architectural historian, award-winning biographer, and human rights advocate. She has published the biographies of Australian architects John Sulman and William Hardy Wilson, and photographers Harold Cazneaux and Max Dupain, among others. She is noted for her architectural histories of historic properties in Australia and overseas. Zeny has served as president of the National Trust of Australia (NSW), Director of the UNAA Peace Program and Vice-president of the 20th Century Heritage Society.
Book details
- 224 pages, hardback
- 250mm (H) x 270mm (W)
- 100+ full colour photographs
- ISBN 978-1-7635361-4-2
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Painting With Stone:
The Story of the Melocco Brothers
Written by Zeny Edwards | Exective Editor Victoria Hynes
Book Review
Dr Caroline Butler-Bowdon, State librarian
I didn’t know how much I needed to read this book about the Melocco Brothers, whose mosaic and terrazzo work is part of so many of my favourite Sydney places and buildings – the Anzac Memorial, the State Theatre, St Mary’s Cathedral Crypt and Central Station, as well as our beloved State Library. These buildings have one thing in common: the craftsmanship and entrepreneurial spirit of the three Melocco brothers, Peter, Antonio and Galliano, who brought an ancient Roman and Byzantine art form from Friuli in Northern Italy to Sydney, via New York. They left a towering legacy.
The brainchild of arts writer Victoria Hynes, this impressive book by architectural historian Dr Zeny Edwards, accompanied by marvellous photography by Eric Sierins, reaffirm. the Meloccos’ significance to Sydney” architectural and design history. As the author notes, the brothers’ poke through the language of stone’.
The Melocco Brothers were both artisans and artists, and the book focuses on key examples of their artistry and indu try in mosaic, terrazzo, marble, scagliola and stone masonry. The book examine Peter’ artistic leader hip, Antonio’ management of production and workforce, and Galliano’s engineering expertise. Alongside their decorative work, they produced items including industrial wash basins and oversaw concrete construction of roads and buildings, in 1941 introducing readymixed concrete to Australia.
A detailed history of the brothers’ lives fills many pages, and includes wonderful anecdotes such as Peter’s free night classes in ornamental drawing at the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in New York when he was only 15. His desire to migrate to Australia was prompted by a lantern-slide talk about Anthony Hordern’s Palace Emporium (where World Square now stands). One of my favourite stories describes Peter working on his first big project in 1909–10, ‘lugging the finished slabs of marble and terrazzo mosaic across town to the cathedral by wheelbarrow and tram’ to create the mosaic floor of the Chapel of the Irish Saints in St Mary’s Cathedral.
While the focus of the book is clearly the brothers’ artistic brilliance, Edwards also weaves a story of the power of family and community, the challenges of migration, and the prejudice the brothers faced. The story of Peter Melocco’s arrest in Sydney during World War II and his subsequent internment, which left a deep mark on the family, is movingly told. Despite this, the family’s commitment to Australia was profound. This book is a powerful reminder of the immense value of migration to Sydney and the signature impact of emigrants on our city.
Few people crossing the threshold of the State Library’s Mitchell building would understand the extent of the Meloccos’ story here, despite experiencing the magnificent mosaic Tasman Map on the floor of the Mitchell Vestibule. The Library owes a debt of gratitude to the Meloccos for this and for the striking skirtings and wall panels on the ground floor completed during World War II, along with the ‘staircase of knowledge’ that leads from the vestibule to the first floor. The outstanding quality of the materials and design befits a cultural institution like this one, and its users. The Meloccos’ craftsmanship is timeless and exquisite and testament to the family motto – Reftoresco – I will reflower.
Book Review
Article from ‘The Weekend Australian’ September 6-7, 2025.
By Christopher Allen, National Art Critic.
