Rome has the most extensive public water network in the world, accessible for everyone in the city’s neighborhoods. There are more than 2,800 drinking fountains, called “nasoni” by Romans, that provide free drinking water, including 300 in the city within the walls. Established in 1874 from an idea of then Mayor Luigi Pianciani, they ensure the prevention of hygiene/sanitation and odor problems in central and peripheral drainage networks, as well as in areas where there are markets, kiosks, and street activities. They dispense a total of less than 1% of the total fed into the network. The regular flow allows optimization of pressures and water quality, particularly in the peripheral areas of the network, but the nosewells also play an important social as well as public health role particularly in the summer season on hot days.
The modern evolution of the “nasoni” (meaning “big noses”) are the “Case dell’acqua” (water houses), where in addition to drinking free still and sparkling drinking water, it is possible to recharge tablets and smartphones and consult public utility information on digital displays. There are currently 30 Water Houses in Rome managed by Acea.
The administration’s goal is to expand the network of “Water Houses,” bringing them to the busiest places in the summer and to the city’s hottest neighborhoods, reclaiming and reusing water for watering gardens and parks.
With the Jubilee 2025 interventions, 14 Water Houses have already been installed Piazza della Città Leonina, Vatican Museums Basilica San Paolo Fuori le mura, Piazza Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, Basilica San Giovanni, Piazza G. Belli, Largo Pietro Tacchi Venturi, Piazza Santa Maria Liberatrice, Piazzale del Verano, Tiburtina Station, Termini Station, Castel Sant’Angelo, Piazza Risorgimento, Piazza di Santa Maria Maggiore.
On the Acquea APP you will find information – available in Italian, English and Spanish – and you can locate the nearest fountains and water houses and a map of their location.
