By Luna Li
First Impressions:
After I first arrived in Rome, it took no time at all before I felt the merciless heat and the seemingly unquenchable thirst. So, I hope you can imagine my relief and delight when I found out that Rome is a city overflowing with water, whether it’s from the nasoni, a type of drinking water fountain, the decorative water fountains such as the Trevi Fountain, or the Tiber River gently drifting along.
In my eyes, water is life itself.
If you look through the lens of science, the human body is made up of 70% of water and you would most certainly die if denied any water for just three days. When scientists search for life on other planets, they always try to find water first because organic life first evolved to exist in water.
Through the lens of history, all early human settlements were developed along rivers, such as along the Tigris-Euphrates river system in the Mediterranean area, the Nile river in northeast Africa, the Ganges river in India, and the Yellow river and Yangtze river in China. Through the lens of environmental and humanitarian crises, when climate change-caused droughts lead to low agricultural product production and food shortages, it can generate a wave of panic and insecurity in a society and is ultimately felt by the most vulnerable people in a population.
So, since Rome offers drinkable water freely to the people and has more water to use for the magnificent fountain displays, I see Rome as this incredible city rich with the source of life. Throughout these four weeks in Rome and other regions in Italy, I have made it my mission to search for and document my experiences with water, and to observe how the Italian culture may be reflected in their usage and management of water.
Water in Rome:
Like the water fountains found in the U.S, Rome has its own more ancient drinking water fountains that provide fresh, cool water that comes directly from the mountains above the city. These water fountains are called “nasoni”, which means “big nose”, and it’s not hard to see why! Rome is filled with around 2,500 nasoni with the oldest ones in the Trastevere district, and they are tested for purity around 250,000 times each year to make sure the water stays safe to drink. The water is still piped into the city via the ancient Roman aqueducts originally created centuries ago.
These water fountains are called “nasoni”, which means “big nose”, and it’s not hard to see why!
“Reuse and repurpose” is what our professor, Dr. Julia Khrebtan-Horhager, says all the time, quoting something one of my peers said the first day in class. Sometimes there are fountains with water coming out of the walls of the city instead of pipes; they’re called “fontanelle”, little fountains, and their designs are not only exceptionally gorgeous, they’re also a way for cultural history to be perfectly preserved.
Exciting Adventures:
I have been so grateful for this one nasoni located at the top of a small hill. For the duration of this program, my peers and I stayed in apartments located 20 minutes away from the AUR campus and we had to walk up 4 sets of stairs, 229 stairs in total every single school day (oh yes, we counted!).
By the time we stumbled up the last set of stairs every morning, I am destroyed by the heat with sweat soaking through my t-shirt and dripping down my legs while my peers somehow still manage to look absolutely gorgeous. Seeing that faithful nasoni at the top of the stairs is like seeing the light at the end of a long dark tunnel or the lighthouse during a turbulent sea storm. Another nasoni that saved my life was one by a sidewalk somewhere in Rome; like an anonymous good Samaritan, it quenched my thirst after a group of us went walking around Rome for hours at night. That was the one and only time I forgot to bring my water bottle (I never made that mistake since), but there was really nothing to worry about! On these spouts there are always another small hole on the top where you can plug your finger into the larger spout to make water come out of the small hole like a small drinking fountain. So, no matter if you have a water bottle or not, you can still get a drink from the nasoni. It amazes me how ingenious but simple the nasoni design is!
After touring the Roman Forum and the Colosseum during one of our first days in Rome, I was exhausted and was desperate for any water but didn’t want to pay for the overpriced water the street hustlers were selling. Thankfully there was a drinkable water fountain near the bus stop with a very long line; I guess everyone felt the sun’s uninvited embrace that day. I remember watching the different things people were doing as the line slowly got shorter: collecting water in water bottles, drinking directly from the fountain, splashing water on their faces and over their heads and bodies, or even getting their hats wet to stay cool. Everyone was unique and different, but they all had one thing in common: their relief from their thirst and from the heat. I could feel everyone come back to life once they left the fountain.
Among the many drinking fountains in Rome, one of the oldest and the most iconic drinking fountain can be found in the Giardino degli Aranci - the Garden of the Orange Trees - on the Aventine Hill. On a day where our group decided to go to the beach, I went to seek out this drinking fountain instead. This water fountain is special because the spout is in the shape of a wolf, referencing the she-wolf in the tale of Rome’s founding. According to legend, Rome was founded by the two brothers Romulus and Remus in 753 B.C., who were suckled and raised by a she-wolf after being abandoned as infants. It is said that after a terrible conflict, Romulus killed his brother and thus named Rome after himself.
This water fountain is special because the spout is in the shape of a wolf, referencing the she-wolf in the tale of Rome’s founding.
Peaceful Reflections:
Rome also shows its generosity and richness with its water in the sense that there are beautiful fountains with flowing water not for drinking near famous monument, in quiet gardens, and even in the city center. On the way to campus, I always walked through Villa Sciarra, a beautiful park with a few ponds and water fountains. Of all the fountains I have seen in Rome and beyond, my favorite two fountains are in Villa Sciarra. Fontana delle Sfingi is a fountain with four statues in it, each statue is of a woman morphing into a lion. I see such power and love from this fountain; the women not only have their original human beauty, but they now also possess the strength of a lioness. As lionesses are often symbols of both protective ferocity and motherly care, these women now embody these symbols as well as portraying women’s ability to give life. Since water is a symbol of life, these statues in this fountain form the fundamental image of a protective, loving mother giving life to you.
The other water fountain I love is one I passed every day on my way to campus.
It’s this small, simple, nameless fountain that reads “Acqva Non Potabile”, but I love it regardless because I felt so calm and peaceful when I dipped my hands into its cold, refreshing water. Despite the water not being drinkable, it's still so clear that I can see the rocks and stones at the bottom. The constantly flowing water trickles in and the filtering drain lets the water to be recycled so that nothing is wasted. Stepping back, you can see the light perfectly hitting the water, where the stone wall is reflected in the water and the watery light is reflected onto the stone wall, and everything and everyone in that moment becomes obsolete and you feel like you haven’t felt true inner peace until right now.
Cultural Insights:
Being a multicultural individual with roots in both the U.S and in China, I found the magnificent display and usage of water in drinkable and decorative water fountains very different from the Chinese culture in which I grew up in. In China, the idea of saving or conserving substances is very important and being excessive or wasteful is frowned upon. Whether it’s food or water or money, the Chinese mindset is always to save it for the future or save it for a time you might need it. In the Beijing I grew up in, I remember being taught in class to always make sure that the water is turned off completely after washing your hands and that every drop of water is precious. Even drinking water in China is limited; you should never drink water directly from the pipes and I remember my family buying plastic jugs of water for our own consumption in our house. As a kid, every time our family visited the U.S, I always marveled at the fact that you can drink the tap water and that there were public water fountains free of charge. And I find myself reliving that childish wonder when I came here to Rome and learned about the nasoni, the fontanelle, and other water fountains.
From Rome’s use and management of water, I feel like it reflects the values of the Italian culture. I don’t mean that this is a culture that promotes wasting, just the opposite actually: I think this shows that Italian culture values recycling and reusing, whether it be water or other materials. I love how the beauty and the pleasing aesthetics of the water fountains make you feel so relaxed when you admire this piece of art, which to me shows how this is a culture that values enjoying life through the admiration of art and history. I believe that the free drinkable water fountains offered to the people show how Italian culture values protecting and serving its people, by giving them the source of life itself.
In my eyes, water is life itself.
Final Thoughts:
Whether it was the life-saving water from the nasoni, the majestic water from the fountains, or even just the silent reflection of life seen on the Tiber River, I have loved every aspect of water in Rome. There are times when logic in coherent sentences can’t completely describe everything, so I hope you will enjoy this poem I wrote and feel my love for Rome fly off the page.
AMOR
Alive are the streets beneath my feet, humming and beating to its ancient rhythm; the Eternal City in its eternal dance.
Mighty are the ruins that embrace me gently, cracked and hurt but not defeated; the Eternal City in its eternal stance.
Opaque are the city walls that loom above my head, stoically witnessing the ebb and flow of
time; the Eternal City with its eternal gaze.
Reviving is the water that flows peacefully past me, reflecting the sky and earth until it all melts into one; the Eternal City in its eternal daze.
Rome is a tapestry of a thousand colors, each thread of light and darkness woven tightly
together; the Eternal City, you tug on my heart strings.
Of all your beautiful and ugly shades, I admire and accept and love all your natural truths; the Eternal City, you serenade and sing.
Many will greet you and smile and walk right through, but I will look back and be back soon; the Eternal City, I will be melancholy when apart.
Although our affair has been sweet but short and swiftly done, my coin in the Trevi is my
promise to you: the Eternal City, you will always be in my heart.
About the Author
Luna Li is a rising junior majoring in Zoology and an honors student at Colorado State University. After participating in this study abroad program during the summer, she’s planning to go to Tanzania in Africa to study wildlife management for the entire fall semester in another study abroad program. Talk about a world traveler! Growing up in a multicultural family, she has always found learning about different cultures fascinating, and has loved learning about Italian culture during her first time in Italy. While living abroad, she has learned a lot about herself, how to take care of yourself when traveling, and how to fully enjoy a place with all its wonders. This program has been challenging but amazing in all aspects, and it has given her experiences that she will take with her for the rest of her life.
Luna would like to thank her wonderful family for supporting her in every way possible, especially her mom for helping her through some rough patches during this program; she would have not made it through without her mom's encouragement to grow as a person and learn from her mistakes! She would also like to thank her peers and friends for being there and forming this wonderful support network as they all grew as cultural intellectuals!
Citations: MLA Format
“The Free Drinking Fountains of Rome.” Explore Italian Culture, https://www.explore-italian-culture.com/drinking-fountains-of-rome.html.
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