“If Music is a Place — then Jazz is the City”: My Favorite Spots to Experience Umbria Jazz 2026
An opinion piece by Evangeline Welch, Bryn Mawr College
Evangeline, a former student of the Summer 2026 Intensive Italian Language through Culture program, spent a few weeks in Perugia in July. Here is something you where not expecting in a medieval city nestled in the heart of Italy.
During my first five weeks in Perugia, I thought I had understood the ambiance of the city: the bustling college students, children enjoying summer camp, and perhaps some tourists taking in the beautiful views. When Umbria Jazz began, however, I realized I was now in a completely new city full of energy, music, and more people than I ever thought I would see in the city center. Umbria Jazz gave me a chance to rediscover some of my favorite places and see Perugia in a new light, a wonderful opportunity for my last week of the Intensive Italian Program.
Mercato Coperto – Terrazza Swing
The Mercato Coperto is one of my favorite spots in Perugia city center to take in the remarkable views the città has to offer, including a glimpse of Assisi. During Umbria Jazz, however, it reimagines itself, becoming filled with live jazz performances and swing dancers. By no means am I a dancer—much less a swing dancer, whose precision yet effortless appearance blew me away every night—but the Terrazza was so welcoming that when everyone around me was joining in on the dancing, learning the steps as the song progressed, I had to participate. The Terrazza Swing reminded me every night of the community found in Perugia that is only amplified by the Jazz Festival and the unexpected ways in which it can be found.
Giardini Carducci
On the Conad Stage, the Conad Jazz Contest is a chance for young jazz musicians to showcase their skills and compete for prizes that could help them further their musical careers. As Perugia is already such a young city, with many college students from both Università degli Studi di Perugia and Università per Stranieri di Perugia, this contest showed the energy and talent found in Perugia and allowed the community to uplift these young musicians. It was incredible to see their talent and the joy they brought to a spot in the city that was typically calm and quiet.
Teatro Morlacchi
With the Umbra Institute, I had gone on a tour of the Teatro Morlacchi, getting a chance to explore its history and architecture with a private tour. The actors leading us described the beauty and energy of the theatre during a show, but descriptions can hardly do justice how incredible it was to see a performance there. I was lucky enough to see Cécile McLorin Salvant perform, and my box was so close to the stage it felt like I was on it with her. I could feel her responses to the audience and their reactions to her, a beautiful, harmonious moment of collectivity and mutual appreciation. To see in that moment that sense of community and to understand the way the Teatro Morlacchi helps this happen encapsulates what Umbria Jazz is all about. The power of the teatro is apparent when no one is in it; to experience it during a show is indescribable.
Piazza IV Novembre
One of my favorite things about the Umbria Institute is where it sits in Perugia: in the lively Piazza IV Novembre, a spot that hosts countless cultural activities to discover. During Umbria Jazz, this was no exception as free concerts every day attracted hundreds of people. From American university students to people covering Michael Jackson to jazz giants (seriously: Ray Gelato & Giants performed there!) there is something for everyone and a constant, captive audience of people singing and dancing along. It is such a joy to leave class with my friends and immediately step outside not only into the world of Umbria Jazz but into the heart of it. Some of my favorite performances were the ones I saw here, usually accidentally stumbling upon it. Just like jazz itself, the spontaneity of Umbria Jazz in Perugia provides an experience that can be found nowhere else.