Nasoni
« Nasoni » is an Italian word, which means “big noses”. In Rome it indicates the typical small fountains that you can see in the centre ofRome, distributing free drinking water. The funny name is due to the typical curved shape of the faucet, which looks like a big nose. Just inside the walls of the city there are nearly three hundred “nasoni”, that refresh the tourists and the inhabitants during the roman hot Summer.
They made their first appearance a few years after Italywas born, when the Mayor of the city had the idea to place these fountains throughout the whole city. One of the oldest “nasoni” (still perfectly working) is in Piazza della Rotonda, near the Pantheon.
At the beginning, however, (even before taking the well-known nickname) these water dispensers had three spouts instead of one, and they were decorated with a dragon’s head. You can see a modern reconstruction in a downtown street, which is called via delle Tre Cannelle (“three spouts street”).
