A locals guide to drinking water in Rome
A fantastic way to stay hydrated in Rome is to take advantage of the drinking water fountains called Nasoni. There are over 2000 in the city, with the first one installed in 1874, with the water coming from a large Roman aqueduct called Peschiera. Its purity is monitored with over 200,000 tests performed annually.
The water is licensed by the city of Rome, and Romans call it ‘l’acqua del sindaco’, meaning the mayor’s water. Each nasoni has the initials S.P.Q.R stamped on it, which stands for the latin phrase Senatus Populus Que Romanus (The senate and the people of Rome) which refers to the government of the ancient Roman republic.
The 200 pound, 3 foot iron structures, owe its name to the bent snout that resembles a nose. (big nose in Italian translates as nasoni). Most of the locals of Rome drink the water by covering the snout, allowing the water to flow out from a small hole at the top of the snout allowing for more convenient drinking.
The nasoni are environmentally friendly, with 15,000 cubic meters of water flowing into the fountains drains each day, used for watering gardens and other non-drinking purposes.
If you have trouble locating these fountains in the city, there is a mobile phone application available to download called I Nasoni di Roma here for free on itunes. Alternatively you can locate your closest Nasoni fountain click here, by entering your address or postcode by the map.
When purchasing your coffee at a local café, you would also expect to be given a glass of water. If not, ‘Posso avere un bicchiere di aqua per favore,’ is the way to ask. To discover more useful information and money saving tips in Rome, click here to see more of blogs.