Nasoni
The little cast-iron drinking fountains on Rome’s street corners, running with fresh water all day.
Some 2,500 nasoni, “big noses”, stand on Rome’s pavements, named after their curved spout. They were put up from the 1870s on and run day and night with water from the city’s aqueducts.
Romans have a trick: block the end of the spout with a finger and the water shoots up out of a little hole on top, like a drinking fountain.
More in Rome
ColosseumThe great amphitheatre of ancient Rome, opened in AD 80 for gladiator fights before some 50,000 people.
PantheonA temple to all the gods rebuilt under Hadrian, with the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world.
Trevi FountainRome’s grandest fountain, where a coin thrown over your shoulder means you will come back.
Piazza NavonaA long Baroque square on the outline of Domitian’s stadium, with Bernini’s Fountain of the Four Rivers.
Roman ForumThe heart of ancient Rome: temples, basilicas and the Senate house, in a valley between the hills.
VittorianoThe huge white marble monument to Victor Emmanuel II on Piazza Venezia, nicknamed the typewriter.
Campo de’ FioriA lively square with a morning market and, in the middle, the hooded statue of Giordano Bruno.
Column of Marcus AureliusA marble column carved with the emperor’s wars along the Danube, standing on Piazza Colonna since the 2nd century.
Largo di Torre ArgentinaFour temples of the Republic sunk below the street, beside the spot where Julius Caesar was murdered.
VespaThe scooter that put post-war Italy on two wheels and rode through Roman Holiday.
SampietriniThe small black cobblestones of basalt that pave the streets of old Rome.
CarbonaraPasta with egg, guanciale, pecorino and black pepper: Rome’s own dish, with never a drop of cream.