Claudia grew up in the Adelaide suburb of Kilkenny. She started her career as a ‘cultural storyteller’ in 2021 with the publication of her book The Good Italian Girl.
From the cover of her book, we read that from the age of 17, Claudia felt the pressure to live up to cultural expectations of how to be a ‘good Italian girl’: to live close to family, to marry, to have a big family and to be the glue of family unity. Through her story, Claudia wants to inspire the “girls” of the new generations to grow up affirming themselves and their values while remaining immersed in their cultural traditions.
The book The Good Italian Girl was the inspiration for a play at the Adelaide Fringe in 2022. For Claudia, it was a fantastic experience to be able to convey her message from a theatre stage to a sold-out audience.
Also this year in 2023, Claudia returned to the Adelaide Fringe stage with the show The Good Italian Girl – Italian Love is a Battlefield.
Spurred on by the success of The Good Italian Girl, Claudia launched a 9-part podcast series entitled The Good Italian Girl and Friends.
In these podcasts Claudia interviewed first-generation immigrant girls-daughters and collected their stories and experiences. The result was surprising. With their often very funny testimonies, the ‘girls’ talked about the experiences of growing up in their families, their cultural expectations and now, as mothers in adulthood, how they deal with their children in the process of passing on the values of their Australian-Italian heritage.
These podcasts can be accessed at https://www.buzzsprout.com/2076766/11932000
You can start with the very enjoyable podcast Older sisters chat: Laura and Claudia. https://www.buzzsprout.com/2076766/12064056
March 2023.