Walking around the the historic centre of the Medieval city of Perugia in July 2026, I looked up to see a faded, textured mural depicting a surreal fusion; a fragmented, elegant black figure in profile and the iconic Bialetti Moka coffee with what appears to be a stove-top flame beneath it. The coffee pot handle is replaced with a human arm.
We were in Perugia specifically for the Umbria Jazz Festival, a city I’d never visited before despite numerous visits to Italy and spending a year here as a university student. The Italian coffee pot resonated with me on a number of levels – I’ll try and explain why.
Firstly I have been noticing imagery related to coffee. Recently in London I’d been shopping for a dress but instead ended up photographing the store sales assistant as she had a coffee pot tattooed on her arm:
And earlier this year I had been documenting Catholic religious iconography in Palermo, Sicily. One of the sightings that had struck me was the juxtaposition of the Bialetti coffee pot with the Jesus figurine alongside it:
Whilst in Palermo I visited a wall called Il Muro della legalita comprised of street art honouring individuals who had fought against the Mafia. The photograph below depicts on of my favourite authors, Andrea Camilleri who died at the age of 93 in 2019. Selfishly I was sad when he died as I had read all his novels and had to accept there would be no more to look forward to.
Besides making me laugh out loud Camilleri also inspired me to try cooking some new dishes as his crime novels were interspersed with descriptions of delicious food. The television series dramatising the Inspector Montalbano novels also highlighted the protagonist’s prioritisation of food and particularly coffee in times of crisis:
My curiosity regarding Umbria Jazz had been piqued by musician Ray Gelato who plays regularly at the festival with his band The Giants. We had been chatting over coffee outside our mutual regular London haunt, Bar Italia in London’s Frith Street several months earlier. Ray’s love of Bar Italia has been immortalised into a song which is part of his repertoire.
Ray described the Umbria Jazz Festival to me and advised I book accommodation in advance as Perugia gets busy in that period. On Ray’s recommendation we stayed in a hotel right in the centre of the action, which was perfect for us.
Below a young child on his guitar jamming along to Ray Gelato and the Giants.
There was music everywhere – everything from buskers and brass band processions to small outdoor stages and arena gigs.
Above, Italian musician Francesco (on the right) who regularly performed in the street with his keyboard in a genre reminiscent of New Orleans icon Dr. John.
Mitch Woods is Brooklyn-born and California-based pianist and singer whose genres span rock, boogie-woogie, blues and jive. Mitch has lead his band The Rockets since the 80s and also currently tours with Van Morrison. It was great to meet him as he was doing a residency in the jazz club at our hotel:
Below, Ray and Mitch jamming together
One of the surprise gigs for me was seeing the Charles Lloyd Quartet who shared the bill with Terence Blanchard & Ravi Coltrane. An 88 year old sax player and flautist – I was blown away by his spiritual energy and found his sound totally mesmerising. I also loved the background artworks which I believe were created by his wife Dorothy Darr:
I visited some of Perugia’s Museums during the day and in one of the rooms at the Fondazione Perugia, was struck by this painting of a woman with a tambourine or tamburella. (Possibly by Gian Domenico Cerrina also know as Il Cavalier Perugino – if anyone can confirm do let me know).
Many of the shops in Perugia had musical instruments in their windows. Here are a few examples:
There was something surreal about the ukulele and tambourines juxtaposed with adverts for reducing cellulite and high-end facial fillers and beautifying creams in this pharmacy window:
A couple more images of people and coffee in Perugia:
My husband being a big fellow prefers to have a double espresso rather than a single; this bar in Perugia brought it to him in two separate espresso cups!
What I didn’t let on to Ray Gelato was that I knew that Antonio, the owner of Bar Italia and Little Italy in Soho was coming to Perugia to surprise him. Antonio along with a few friends, also regulars at the cafe, were arriving on the final Saturday of the Festival, which also happened to be the day I was leaving, having arrived the Saturday before towards the start of the Festival.
Back in London, I intend to keep up my tradition of going to Bar Italia.
Above, my two sons deep in conversation at Bar Italia earlier this year.
And today for breakfast I made myself coffee at home. I’m reflected in a shot of my Bialetti Moka pot with the London cityscape behind it:
Links:
