Drinking water at “Il nasone”

Our last suggestion is quite unusual, and there is no single location to admire it. It is in fact not a monumental fountain, but the public drinking water dispenser found everywhere in Rome.

Literally translated as “the long nose”, il nasone is nothing more than an iron cast cylinder with some simple ornaments, dispensing free drinkable water in the centre and in the suburbs alike. You have probably seen many of them, and maybe even used some to quench your thirst.
So perhaps you can relate the shape of the tap to the adorable nickname given by the Romans.
They still use the same cylindrical design that remains almost unchanged since over a century, since the first one of the series appeared in 1874.
There are about 2500 of them around Rome, and if you haven’t seen one, there are maps available over the internet locating all of them. Even mobile apps can help you find one in the centre. The fountain in the Pantheon square in the very centre of the city is one of the oldest one still in use; and it is almost unique because it features the original tap shaped like a dragon which was later simplified as a curved tube for maintenance and construction purposes.

These neighbourhood metallic fountains are a part of the collective Roman culture and were featured in movies, poetries and books that made them eternal.