(ANSA) - Naples declares its love for the coffee bean this weekend with a festival that looks at the delicious drink from every possible angle.
The third edition of Caffest is on at Castel dell'Ovo, one of the city's most distinctive monuments, from 10am to 8pm this Saturday and Sunday.
The event gives visitors the chance to sample the range of wonderful flavours coffee can produce, as well as learning about the beverage's history and its wider role in society. Experts will demonstrate how coffee is made, the different plants, beans and mixes used, and uncover the drink's therapeutic and aphrodisiac properties.
An array of historic coffee machines from different parts of the world are on display, some of which will be put through their paces by specialist bar staff. Ample space is also given to the drink's influence in the world of culture. An exhibition of paintings, including a piece by French master Edouard Manet, will reveal how artists have portrayed coffee-drinking over the centuries.
A selection of shots by Italian photographer Giuseppe Villirillo captures famous people as they enjoy a cup.
Cinema fans, meanwhile, will be able to see extracts from classic Italian and Hollywood movies in which coffee, in one way or another, plays a key role.
Caffest also re-tells the history of the drink since it came to Europe from the East in the 17th century. Illustrated panels and exhibits explain to visitors, for example, that it wasn't until the turn of the 18th century that its fortunes really took off, when the cultured elite started meeting for chats over a cup of coffee. Apparently, the drink was initially considered too bitter, but this changed when someone hit on the idea of adding sugar.
There is a selection of interesting quotes about coffee made by famous figures from history on display too.
One of these gives the criteria for judging coffee of Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand, Napoleon Bonaparte's master diplomat.
According to Talleyrand, a good coffee must be "black as the devil, hot as hell, pure as an angel and sweet as love." Italians are famed for their love of coffee, consumed in a multitude of different ways - short, long, in a glass, in a cup, 'stained' with milk, or even 'corrected' with a drop of liquor.
But no one is more passionate about the drink than the Neapolitans and the city's cafes produce coffee of unrivalled quality.
Along with delights like Margherita pizza and Baba' cakes, the local coffee is considered a vital part of Naples' culinary heritage.
