Longueville Media
Painting with Stone: The Story of the Melocco Brothers Paperback
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.
About the author
Dr Zeny Edwards OAM is an architectural historian, award-winning biographer, cultural heritage consultant and human rights advocate. She has published biographies and monographs 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.
Dr Edwards has served in various lead roles: she is the immediate past-president of the Australian Council for Human Rights Education, and was president of the National Trust of Australia (NSW), chair of UN Women Australia (NSW), and director of the UN Association of Australia Peace Program. She currently serves as President of the Institute for Global Peace and Sustainable Governance, Coordinator of International Relations at Australian Graduate Women, and member of the board of the Museum of Understanding Through Tolerance and Inclusion.
Dr Edwards has been involved with Museums of History NSW since 2001. She is passionate about supporting the next generation of scholars by providing them with opportunities to explore the history of NSW through our places, collections and archives, supplementing their university studies with hands-on research under the guidance of industry professionals.
Zeny Edwards
Published February 2026
Paperback
184 pages
635mm x 686mm
ISBN 9781764407205
