A short visit in Perugia last August coincided with the MusicFest Perugia, 30 days of music of all genres. A Bach gala concert was planned to be held at the church dedicated to St Peter and I decided to attend. On the morning of the concert, the venue being only a short walk from the hotel, I decided to check on the formalities.

Entering the basilica is like entering a very dark hall. I could not see one window or one simply stained glass. It was impossible to appreciate any decorations or any ornaments and I was rather disappointed.

I asked a young priest there about the concert and he asked where I came from. When I mentioned Malta, he stood up and, holding a small torch, showed me two large paintings near the main entrance. They featured the shipwreck of St Paul in Malta. Unfortunately, there is no plaque indicating the name of the artist or date of execution.

The priest explained to us the reason why the windows are all covered by large paintings: to have the best acoustics; microphones are no go there. It is documented that, once, the great conductor Herbert Von Karajan was rehearsing for a concert and he was so pleased with the acoustics he declared he can detect a false note 40 metres from the orchestra. All this was confirmed during the evening’s concert.