That little grey fountain suddenly greeting you while walking, is one of the finest details this city holds. Introduced in 1870, the Nasoni accompanied many generations of Romans, supplying free water. That “column-y” design never changed and what we see now, is what our ancestors were seeing as well; at their peak you could count around 5.000 Nasoni in the whole city, now, spread throughout the city and mostly in the center, that amount was halved, arriving at around 2.500/2.900 little fountains that you might encounter, either in the suburbs and the center.
But this blog post is not going to be about the history of the Nasoni, or various technicalities filled with dates; instead I’m going to try to explain and story-tell why this little fountain is so special and how everyday life is with him. Yes, by now I consider the Nasone like an uncle, a grandpa, you name it. And being born here, you’re in for a treat.
“Se vedemo ar Nasone…”
Let’s meet at the Nasone. Despite having the possibility to get-together at a bar or at a café, the nasone, especially during summer and when kids are around, becomes a perfect place to stay close to. Bring your own empty bottle and that’s it, everything else will happen after that simple gesture of filling it. The sound will also be the perfect background for roaring hot weather. Sometimes you even have to stand in line to get your water. Just yesterday I waited in order: an old men, a young guy refreshing his face and a dog that looked thirsty, but didn’t want to drink.
“Cani, gatti, piccioni, gabbiani, er Nasone è de tutti…”
Dogs, cats, pigeons, seagulls, the Nasone is for everybody. Rome is a city that loves animals, truly, and so does the Nasone. When walking in parks, or even in the city, you will see at least one dog drinking from them, to not even talk about the many birds using fountains in general to get their shower. A fun fact here: you might know that the faucet of the Nasone has a tiny little hole on the top, right? That one is where people drink from normally, and it was (and still is) a common saying, that if you drink from the faucet avoiding to do so from that little hole, then you’re drinking like a dog would. But don’t worry, in the end, it really doesn’t matter from which hole you get your water.
“I Gavettoni l’ultimo giorno de scola…”
The Gavettoni (water balloon fight) on the last day of school. This is a personal story that I lived for many years consecutively and I think it’s very fun and not everybody knows about it. Gavettone is the word to describe a water balloon. Originating from the “caserme” (the place where the soldiers would train and sleep), the “prank” was born to throw these balloons (but not necessarily balloons, even buckets of water and such) suddenly splashing water on your body. For fun! This literally was an appointment that students would wait all year for. Essentially, on the last day of school (which is normally at the start of June, so incredibly hot), you would make sure to bring with you as few things as you could (I remember people coming to school, with just their essentials in a plastic bag!) and only empty balloons or whatever fitted your preferences for the “water war” coming. Once out of school, the battle would start, people throwing water from balloons, water guns, bottles, buckets. And who was there to help us throughout this? The Nasone! We would end up “fighting” close to the “fontanella” because of this. And I still wonder how many Nasoni have witnessed this absurd, as well as funny, tradition.
“L’acqua der rubinetto è calla, prendila ar Nasone…”
The water from the sink is warm, take it from the Nasone. I speak from experience here, because the water coming from my kitchen sink is unbelievably warm during summer, and I guess in plenty of other houses (my mom’s too). Obviously it depends on your water system and such, but I can’t tell you how many times I saw old men filling so many bottles randomly at the Nasone! I did it too, especially at the end of July when the warm weather is unsustainable. Bring a few bottles and run home, to keep them as fresh as you can. Nowadays, you don’t see it happening as much as you would, but I love seeing it when it happens.
“Er Nasone lavora pe fiorai, fruttivendoli e ‘n sacco de gente…”
The Nasone works for flower stands, fruit stands and so many people. How many times do we see a bucket under the faucet of a nasone? Probably not as often as you might think, because you probably don’t even realize it! Flower shops and stands use the nasone a lot to maintain their flowers fresh and alive, you can see them changing water often and they just keep a few buckets close for any necessity. The same goes for the fruit stands, washing, soaking, cleaning the produce and the mess that it might create on the floor. But not just them! Cleaners also use it to wash the floors and the stairs in buildings or condominiums. Good job, Nasone! Working since 1870!
Thank you Nasone to be the best friend ever in Roma!
roman gal goes around 