What they are
A nasone is a low cast-iron column with a spout curving downwards and a constant stream of water. The first ones were installed in 1874, and the shape has barely changed since.
The water comes from the city mains, the same as from a tap, and passes the same checks. Some nasoni are fed by ancient aqueducts still in use: the water in them is cold even in August because it runs underground.
And an answer to the question everybody asks: the water runs constantly by design, not by oversight. Running water does not stagnate, and the surplus goes back into the system. Shutting them off was tried in dry years and abandoned.
How to drink: the trick
Putting your head under the stream is awkward, and you do not need to. Block the lower opening of the spout with a finger — the water finds its way out through a small hole on top and rises in a neat jet. You get an ordinary drinking fountain.
This is the piece of knowledge that separates someone who has been to Rome from a tourist with a three-euro bottle. Children get it on the first try, after which they want to drink constantly.
Where to look
You do not need a map: the nasoni are so frequent that it is easier to remember the logic. There is almost always one:
- by the big squares — Navona, the Pantheon, Piazza del Popolo;
- next to ancient sites — the Colosseum, the Forum, the Circus Maximus;
- in the parks — Villa Borghese, the Janiculum, the Aventine;
- by basilica entrances and at small crossroads in Trastevere and Monti.
A practical rule: if you are walking through the centre and are thirsty, the nearest nasone is almost certainly three or four minutes away.
What not to drink
The one exception is a sign saying “acqua non potabile”, water not for drinking. It is put on decorative fountains and on some sources in parks. The sign is small, but it is always there where the water is not drinkable.
From the big fountains — Trevi, Navona, the Barcaccia — you should not and cannot drink: the water there recirculates. Going down into the Trevi basin is now also paid, which we covered separately: why the Trevi Fountain started charging.
What it saves
A half-litre bottle of water by the Colosseum costs about EUR 3, in a shop round the corner 50 cents, at a nasone nothing. A family of four in Rome in July drinks some six litres a day.
Over a week the difference is enough to pay for reusable bottles twice over. And it is not only about money: with a nasone you do not have to find a shop at the exact moment a child gets thirsty in the middle of the Forum.
Other places in Rome where you pay nothing are collected separately: ten free places in Rome. And what food and tickets cost is in how much money to bring to Rome.
Frequently asked questions
Can you drink from Rome's street fountains
Yes. The nasoni are connected to the city mains; the water is drinkable and passes the same checks as tap water. It is cold all year because it runs through underground pipes.
Why does the water run constantly
It is not waste but design: running water does not stagnate, and the surplus goes back into the system. Shutting the nasoni off was tried and abandoned.
How do you drink from a nasone
Block the lower opening of the spout with a finger — the water will rise from the small hole on top and you get an ordinary drinking fountain. That is what every local does.
How many drinking fountains are there in Rome
More than two thousand across the city. Practically every major square and sight has at least one.
Which water in Rome should you not drink
Any with a sign reading “acqua non potabile” — not drinkable. Decorative fountains and some park sources are marked this way. Without a sign, the water is drinkable.
