The O’Donnell family are woven into the story of Melbourne’s hospitality scene. From the original Mario’s, opened by Italian migrant grandparents Teresa and Mario Vigano in the CBD and later run by daughter Maria, to the iconic Mietta’s, founded by Mietta O’Donnell and her partner Tony Knox, on Brunswick St Fitzroy North.

Mietta’s redefined central Melbourne’s cultural life in its second location on Alfred Place and later inspired the opening of Mietta’s Queenscliff.

Their venues were places of generosity, warmth and conversation, inspiring countless hospitality operators. They were heavily involved with the Postcode 3000 movement, which reinvigorated the Melbourne CBD during the time Six Degrees opened Meyers Place and helped shape Melbourne’s laneway culture. Six Degrees were fans of Mietta’s – both the restaurant and the woman – and a creative and spiritual friendship evolved, built on a shared understanding of the effect of thoughtful design on spaces and people.

After Mietta’s passing, Patricia O’Donnell, her mother Maria and Tony took on the lease for the North Fitzroy Star. They lived above the pub which Patricia transformed with the help of Six Degrees. The fit-out, inspired by Patricia's idea of a Gypsy Caravan, became a local hub until the lease ended.

When the search began for a permanent home, they found one on Gertrude Street, a site that, fittingly, echoed their family’s roots as early wine merchants in the same neighbourhood. (pictured below - the venue is now known as Andrew McConnell's Cutler & Co).

Six Degrees’ Simon O’Brien was later asked to design Patricia’s apartment upstairs, which she shared with her close friend Michelle Garnaut, her mother Maria and her miniature poodle, Tolstoy.

She would walk him every day in Carlton Gardens and climb those big steep stairs well into her nineties. The apartment was a lively, richly layered space filled with art, stories, culture and community, reflecting who Patricia was - beyond being one of Melbourne’s most treasured restaurateurs – her mentorship, and influence in cultural, literary and hospitality circles defined her.

After Patricia’s passing, her friends Michelle, Sally and Kathryn, who are part of the Mietta Foundation, came together to commission a memorial that would capture her spirit and the family’s enduring legacy.

Simon O’Brien worked in close collaboration with architect James Oberin on the design and documentation, spending time visiting Henderson's Marble & Granite to source material, with Chris Andrew’s (POD) prototyping the concrete base and tile set-outs.  

Simon worked with Bill Perrin at his foundry on the bronze casting, with Simon's partner Amanda (also an architect) helping to steer the vision for this final piece.

Six Degrees developed a design in marble, granite and bronze, to honour craft, memory and the lives of three generations of remarkable women.

The memorial now stands at the Melbourne General Cemetery, a quiet tribute to a family whose hospitality shaped the city’s cultural heart.

Image credits:

Archival family photos as featured in Mietta's Italian Family Recipes book

Marnie Morieson (apartment)

Michael Zito (O'Donnell Memorial)

Design sketch by Simon O'Brien