Rainbow Beach author launches ‘Mamma mia, ItAliens!’ in Brisbane

On 14 March a historical graphic novel based on Italian migration to Queensland in the 1950s was officially launched in Brisbane.

The book, titled Mamma mia, ItAliens!, was written by Rainbow Beach resident Elisa Mele Seul and illustrated by artist Alessia Castiglioni, who also lives in the Gympie Region and previously spent several years in Rainbow Beach.

The launch event was hosted by the Committee of Italians Abroad for Queensland and the Northern Territory (Com.It.Es. QLD NT), an elected body representing the Italian community within the Italian consular jurisdiction, which initiated and promoted the project. 

The event brought together representatives of both Italian and Australian institutions, including the Ambassador of Italy to Australia, Nicola Lener, the Consul for Queensland and the Northern Territory, Luna Angelini Marinucci, Queensland Government Assistant Minister Trevor Watts, and Italian Senator Francesco Giacobbe.

One of the questions Elisa was asked repeatedly during the afternoon was where she lives, and her answer often surprised those attending the event. 

“Rainbow Beach, about 300 kilometres north of Brisbane,” she said. Elisa has lived on the Cooloola Coast for more than thirteen years and says the experience of living in a regional community has strongly influenced her perspective as a cultural researcher and writer.

“Small towns allow you to observe people and communities in a different way,” she explained. 

“Often building connections that are harder to find in larger cities. In many of the migration testimonies I collected, people spoke about something similar then. 

“Seventy years ago even Brisbane was a much smaller city, and some migrants moved between the city and farms for work.”

That regional perspective also appears in the book itself; in the illustrated novel, Alessia Castiglioni includes landscapes inspired by the Queensland coast, with visual references that many locals and visitors will recognise.

While the graphic novel focuses on Italian migration stories from the 1950s, the history it explores is closely connected to Australia’s broader post-war migration story. Across the Gympie Region and the wider Cooloola Coast there are many residents whose parents or grandparents arrived in Queensland from Italy.

Published in both Italian and English, Mamma mia, ItAliens! also has a strong educational dimension. The book was designed as a learning tool to help younger generations understand the migration experiences of modern Australian society.

The launch of Mamma mia, ItAliens! brought together diplomats, government representatives and members of the Italian Australian community, but the story behind the book began much closer to home. Which is why for Elisa, the project also conveys a broader message for people living in regional areas. 

“We are incredibly fortunate to live in places like this,” she says. “But being regional can sometimes place us further away from larger opportunities, so finding ways to bridge that distance is important.”

So, from a coastal community to an international audience, Mamma mia, ItAliens! shows that meaningful cultural projects can grow from regional Australia and still travel far.

To purchase a copy visit: https://www.comitesqldnt.com/fumetto