Vittorio is from Sicily but has lived in Melbourne for most of his adult life. Like many other Italo- Australiani who migrated here in the 1950’s and 60’s, he is getting on in age. He is now 84 years old, is stooped and in pain but this doesn’t deter him from hardwork. In fact, it keeps him going.
He sells vegetable seedlings and plants at weekend and country markets which are grown under shade cloth in his inner suburban backyard. He nurtures thousands of seedling plants like children, each one individually tended and cared for.
They are strong and resilient- just like Vittorio himself. He speaks a crazy mixture of two languages- Sicilian dialect and Australian English. It’s a strange mixture, making conversation quite difficult, but we get by.
These tomatoe bushes were given to me as a Mother’s Day bunch of flowers. Why not mother’s day in November? Vittorio è un angelo.
ALMOST ITALIAN 
What a sweet smile Vittorio has! And I see he has the green thumb of a Sicilian.
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These look lush! Where can I procure some?? 🙂
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What a gem!
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Hi Liz, How did you find this little piece about Vittorio? It seems to be doing the rounds again. It was only last week, after I tasted a grape from a vine he gave us, that I began missing him and wrote another piece about him. I didn’t publish it but now I may do so. I wonder- is he sending me a message? I need to go and visit his house.
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Such a lovely man!
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Hi Misky. He is a lovely, nuggety man- but I am worried about him. I haven’t seen him at his usual market for two years.
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Oh dear. That’s worrying.
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Love the way his smile develops slowly between shots. This is the post that appears when clicking on the IMK link from Maureen’s site. Those seedlings look very resilient and healthy.
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I wondered why Vittorio is doing the rounds again- he is a lovely man but impossible to chat to. I have fears for him and must visit next time in Brunswick.
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Thanks Maree, thanks for alerting me to the link error. I have contacted Maureen. GRRRRRRR
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