Sisto Malaspina Print Page 
Pellegrini's regulars will keep dining with Sisto Malaspina when an outdoor table and memorial plaque to the eatery's beloved former co-owner are unveiled next year. The City of Melbourne designed the plaque and table to acknowledge the 74-year-old's contribution to the city before he was stabbed to death by a terrorist last November.
Saturday marks one year since Mr Malaspina's death.
Mr Malaspina's portrait will be etched onto the memorial table, to be erected in Bourke Street, alongside an acknowledgement that "Sisto loved Melbourne - and Melbourne loved him back".
His son David Malaspina has negotiated with Pellegrini's co-owner Nino Pangrazio to buy his share of the cafe when he retires. "I look forward to looking out of the window of Pelligrini’s and watching people learn about Dad while enjoying a coffee at his table," David said. "Our family is delighted and very proud that Dad’s life will be celebrated with a beautiful artwork that is also very practical. Dad loved nothing more than to sit and have a coffee with our customers, many of whom became life-long friends."
The tribute - with a portrait by Melbourne illustrator Oslo Davis - was announced on Thursday after the council abandoned the idea to rename the laneway that corners Pellegrini's in Sisto's honour.
Melbourne lord mayor Sally Capp said: "We met with Sisto’s family to discuss the best way to remember his contribution to Melbourne, and it became clear that creating a space outside Pellegrini’s where people can sit and reflect would be a fitting tribute to his famous sense of hospitality. Sisto used to sit, chat to people and watch the world go by out the front of his cafe, and we hope Melburnians will take the time to do the same in his memory."
Mr Malaspina was walking down Bourke Street to buy chocolates to celebrate the birth of his grandchild when he saw a burning car near Swanston Street and went over to help. He was stabbed and died at the scene from blood loss, as his attacker was shot down by police.
The plaque reads: "The outpouring of grief that followed Sisto Malaspina's death during a terror-related incident in Bourke Street would have surprised Sisto more than anyone else. Yet the response made sense: Sisto loved Melbourne - and Melbourne loved him back.
"Sisto was a local icon. Co-owner of Pellegrini's Espresso Bar since 1974, he served his customers daily with style, humour and great coffee. His signature blend included a neckerchief and loud yet strangely tasteful shirts, teamed with a winning smile and a gift for remembering both the famous and the not-so-famous. On his last day, 9 November 2018, Sisto was off to buy chocolates for staff to celebrate the birth of his third grandchild. His love lives on."
Mr Malaspina migrated to Australia from Italy in the 1960s and bought Pellegrini's with Mr Pangrazio in 1974. Its success was intertwined with his generosity and personality.
"Sisto was central to the wonderful experience of visiting Pellegrini's, so it’s fitting that his welcoming smile will become a permanent feature in our city," Cr Capp said. "Many locals and visitors will remember their own connection to Sisto and Pellegrini’s at the memorial table."
The Age, 7 November 2019.
The fatal attack on the beloved Melbourne identity Sisto Malaspina in Bourke Street three years ago was a premeditated act of terrorism, a coroner has found.
The Victorian state coroner John Cain has handed down his findings into the 19-second attack by Hassan Khalif Shire Ali in November 2018, finding that it was motivated by his adherence to Islamist extremism and Islamic State. He found that opportunities to prevent the attack may have been missed but he was unable to conclude that Shire Ali’s trajectory towards it would have been averted if intelligence gaps had been filled, if a different threat assessment had been made or if Shire Ali had not been bailed weeks earlier.
Malaspina, the co-owner of Pellegrini’s Espresso Bar, was one of three people stabbed by Shire Ali, who was a national security person of interest.
The attack began when Shire Ali set fire to gas tanks in his car. A bystander, Rod Patterson, was running to help the driver when he was blindsided by Shire Ali and stabbed in the head with a 22cm hunting knife. Shire Ali then overpowered Malaspina, repeatedly stabbing him before chasing down a security guard, Shadi, and stabbing him in the neck. He turned then on police, who tried first to disarm him with their batons before one fired his weapon.
In a hearing on Monday, Cain said the available evidence supported a finding that Shire Ali’s actions constituted a premeditated act of terrorism and an Isis- inspired attack,attributable to Shire Ali’s adherence to an extremist interpretation of Islam.
While the actions of one man that day were intended to intimidate and harm, he said, the acts of many others who stepped in demonstrated the opposite result. He praised Patterson and other bystanders, including two off-duty police officers, who acted with real courage and in scant regard for the consequences for themselves. Cain also found that the use of lethal force by police was justified in the circumstances. Shire Ali died in hospital after he was shot by an officer.
The Guardian, 28 June 2021.
Location
| Address: | 66 Bourke Street, Pellegrini`s Espresso Bar , Melbourne , 3000 |
|---|---|
| State: | VIC |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -37.811691 Long: 144.971191 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Table |
|---|---|
| Monument Theme: | People |
| Sub-Theme: | Crime |
| Actual Event Start Date: | 09-November-2018 |
| Actual Event End Date: | 09-November-2018 |
| Designer: | City of Melbourne |
| Artist: | Oslo Davis |
Dedication
| Approx. Monument Dedication Date: | 2020 |
|---|
Plaque:
The outpouring of grief that followed Sisto Malaspina's death during a terror-related incident in Bourke Street would have surprised Sisto more than anyone else. Yet the response made sense: Sisto loved Melbourne - and Melbourne loved him back.
Sisto was a local icon. Co-owner of Pellegrini's Espresso Bar since 1974, he served his customers daily with style, humour and great coffee. His signature blend included a neckerchief and loud yet strangely tasteful shirts, teamed with a winning smile and a gift for remembering both the famous and the not-so-famous. On his last day, 9 November 2018, Sisto was off to buy chocolates for staff to celebrate the birth of his third grandchild. His love lives on.
