In this blog Amanda writes Part 2 of her memories
of her Nonna, Lina Rossetto nee Bordin.
The image above was taken in Adelaide in 1993.
Spending time with Nonna
We grandkids spent lots of time with Nonna in Kent Town – we loved being with her.
I took every opportunity to go and stay with her. She taught me about love of family, language, food and culture. She encouraged my love of all things Veneto. She told me stories, taught me to speak our dialetto (dialect), took me to visit all our parenti (relatives), took me to the Italian and Veneto clubs whenever she could and shared her love of music and dancing. She taught me how to keep my head high during hard times, and to always show kindness to others.
Together, we would go and visit all the Rossetto, Tormena, Rebuli and Bernardi families, the Frogmore Road families, the Marchioros, the Lucchesi and from her side of the family – the Cavuoto, Rech, Montin, Pedron families, and special friends the Buratto and Mazzocato families.
We’d often go to parties and weddings together. She was a joy to be with.
She was a prolific correspondent to the Bigolino, Biadene and Tarbes (France) families and was the glue that kept the second and third generations connected to our culture. She would get me to always write due righe (a few lines) at the bottom of her letters to our families back in the Veneto and in France. Nonna had her own nickname in the family – Zia Cartolina (Aunty of the postcard) – earned because she was a prolific letter writer and postcard-sender.
Meeting relatives in the Veneto
In 1972 at the age of 12, I went overseas for the first time with my dad, Aldo, and met them all. We stayed in the house that is still in the Rossetto family on Via Erizzo, Bigolino – the house where Nonno and all his siblings were born and grew up.
At that stage in 1972, only Nonno’s brother Zio Neno (Eugenio) and wife Zia Severina were living there and their children Erasmo, Renzo and Tino with their families.
I loved being with them – Nonna had fostered the connection and I have continued to build on it ever since. We also visited Nonna’s side of the family in Biadene, Montebelluna and France, and the connections remain strong there too.
I have been back to Italy four times since – in 2000, 2010, 2015 and 2019. Each time I visit, someone would talk about the letters Nonna used to write; some had drawers and boxes full of them that went way back. What history and stories they hold!
With global technology changes and through social media, I’m able to stay in touch with our Veneto and French families – and I do. I was taught by the best of communicators. I often think that Nonna would have relished being able to facetime or video call on WhatsApp with her cousins and their families. She was inspirational in her ability to keep in touch from such a distance, without the internet or Wifi!
The significant elder
Clearly, Nonna was a significant elder in our family but she also spread that love and joie de vivre among numerous families in the broader Australian Veneto community. To quote my Zia Marietta (Silvano’s wife when writing about Nonna), “Close ties with relatives and friends and richness of living together in harmony are the lynchpins of existence for her.” Nonna‘s home was a haven of welcome and her living room always alive with the laughter of children and friends. She was free with her love, food and advice – and we relished in it.
She regularly visited her sisters, in-laws, nieces and nephews and their families and they loved having her around as much as her immediate family.
At the soccer each week there was no more devoted a supporter. She was an ardent Juventus follower and the players knew her well and treated her like a queen. They loved nothing more than to gather in her home after matches. In her later years she was also a massive AFL Crows fan! Unfortunately, she died just before they won their first grand final in 1997.
Nonna was a goddess of domestic life and her cooking was sublime. In her later life she would be found each Sunday at the Veneto Club dancing with the best. She was the best Nonna and we, her grandchildren could do no wrong. We always felt secure in her love.
Nonna was my mentor, an inspirational storyteller and communicator, and the glue to our families (Rossetto & Bordin) maintaining connection through the generations since she arrived in Australia in 1930. She was the strongest women I have ever known and had one of hardest lives imaginable. Yet she gave so much to so many with real love, sincerity and joy.
My love and admiration for Nonna is endless!
Amanda Rossetto
18 May 2025
All photos provided by Amanda.
*Nonna’s daughter-in-law, Marietta Rossetto, published a book compiling the memories of nonna. It was called La pioggia nelle scarpe: Aneddoti di una protagonista or Rain in these shoes: Anecdotal memories of Adelina Rossetto. It was launched in Adelaide in 1993.
SAVE THE DATE…
The launch of my book, ‘I buy this piece of ground here’: An Italian market gardener community in Adelaide, 1920s – 1970s, will be held on Saturday 19th July, 2:00 – 4:00 pm, at the Mater Christi Catholic parish hall, Grange Road, Seaton.
I will send out electronic invitations in the next couple of weeks. The invitations will include information about how to purchase books from the publisher, Australian National University Press.
Madeleine Regan