There is no chance you will die of thirst while in Rome. No other city in the world can boast as many public drinking fountains as Rome, where there are 2,000 .
On warmer days it is a real pleasure to drink from city’s “Nasoni” (big noses), not only because it is chilled and pleasant-tasting, but also because it’s free!
“The mayor’s water”, is what the Romans ironically call the water that comes out of their taps or out of the “Nasoni”, meaning big noses, the famous drinking fountains with a peculiar curved spout.
They are not historical or elite fountains, but actually “democratic”, as they are scattered throughout the entire city: historic centre, residential districts and the outskirts. They are made of cast iron, are about 1 metre tall and mid way up the column they have a spout in continuous flow of drinking water.
The spout has a small hole on top from which you can drink by closing the main hole with one hand. It is easier to do than to explain!
The most interesting and rare Nasone is located in Via della Cordonata. Unlike the other drinking fountains, it has not one, but three spouts.
According to Shelly, “Its fountains are sufficient reason to visit Rome”. This is what the poet would say after his Roman sojourns referring to the city’s monumental fountains. And it is absolutely true. Water and fountains have been the defining elements of Rome’s urban landscape since antiquity.
Some of the fountains were the end point of the aqueducts that have been supplying the city with water since the Roman era.
The Trevi Fountain is the terminus of the Acqua Vergine aqueduct, while the Fontana del Mosè or of the Acqua Felice is the end point of the Felice aqueduct. The most beautiful piazzas and streets of Rome, the courtyards of its noble palaces and its villas have always been embellished with fountains designed and realized by artists who have made Rome the most beautiful city in the world.
Suffice to think of the Fountain of the Barcaccia in Piazza di Spagna, the Fontanone dell’Acqua Paola at the Gianicolo, the fountains in Piazza Navona, the Fontana delle Tartarughe, the Fontana del Tritone and all the baroque and Renaissance ones by Bernini, Della Porta, Salvi and many others.
The water that comes out of the fountains of Rome is not wasted! Most of it is piped into large reservoirs and used to water the many gardens and parks of Rome. Instead, the water of the monumental fountains is mainly recycled.