Painting with Stone

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 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 or shopped at the marbled David Jones and Mark Foys. They may have 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 Hall of Memory and at the Well of Contemplation at the Anzac Memorial in Hyde Park or been awed by the extraordinary mosaic and terrazzo crypt under St Mary’s Cathedral. In the evening,
they might have been 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.