Few cities have put coffee on stage and on the page the way Naples has. Preparing coffee, with its slow gestures, has become material for theater, film, and fiction. Here are the references every enthusiast should know.
Eduardo De Filippo and coffee on the balcony
In Eduardo De Filippo’s theater, coffee is almost a character in its own right. The scene of making coffee on the balcony — with the cuccumella and the cuppetiello slipped onto the spout to keep the aroma from escaping — is among the most celebrated and beloved moments in Neapolitan drama: a domestic monologue that becomes a philosophy of life. → The cuppetiello.
Luciano De Crescenzo and caffè sospeso
Writer Luciano De Crescenzo brought caffè sospeso to the world with his book of the same name, and with a poetic definition of the gesture: paying for an extra coffee as a gift to a stranger is like offering a coffee to the rest of the world. → Suspended coffee. Ornella and I have the privilege of working with Luciano’s heirs and helping protect his enormous cultural legacy.
Coffee in song and custom
Coffee also runs through Neapolitan song and the city’s popular imagination, as a symbol of everyday life and human warmth.
Frequently asked questions
What is Eduardo De Filippo’s connection to coffee? In his plays, preparing Neapolitan coffee, with the cuccumella and the cuppetiello, is an iconic scene.
Who wrote about caffè sospeso? Luciano De Crescenzo, with the book that made the gesture famous around the world.