Big noses, fountains, and an app to find them all: Acquea.
This year in Rome , it's not just any summer: with the Jubilee underway, which as always is a huge draw for Catholic faithful from all over the world, more and more people are struggling with the heat that, despite the recent respite, scorches the capital during the summer months.
To make the influx of large numbers of visitors sustainable in such high temperatures, it becomes essential to make a resource like water easily accessible , to enable visitors, as well as citizens, to continuously hydrate and refresh themselves.
New water houses on the occasion of the JubileePrecisely for this reason, for the 2025 Jubilee, Acea has installed 14 new water houses —two of which are on Vatican grounds—located at key tourist and pilgrim hotspots. With these new installations, the number of Acea water houses in Rome and the Metropolitan City reaches 160 .
An evolution of the drinking fountain, the water houses allow you to drink free, high-quality still and sparkling water, certified by rigorous and periodic checks. And it's quick : thanks to a flow rate of 180 liters per hour, the dispensers can fill a 1-liter bottle in about 20 seconds . The presence of USB power also allows visitors to charge tablets and smartphones.
In addition to the water houses, the famous "nasoni" (big noses) provide free drinking water to residents and visitors of the Eternal City. Installed since 1874 in squares, parks, and streets, the "nasoni"—so called because of the curved shape of the spout that resembles a large nose—are much more than simple water fountains: silent witnesses to Rome's last 150 years, they have become a true symbol of the capital and the Roman soul.
While the first "nasoni" to be put into operation were distinguished by three elegant dragon-shaped spouts , today, for practicality's sake, they have a single smooth spout . However, it is possible to admire one of the rare three-spouted examples in Via della Cordonata , near the Quirinale, or in the picturesque Piazza della Rotonda , next to the famous Pantheon fountain .
In Rome's historic center , there are now more than 200 "nasoni" (big noses)—2,800 in the entire municipality—along with approximately ninety artistic fountains and drinking fountains, which continuously supply drinkingwater . Among the most famous are the Barcaccia , a masterpiece by Pietro and Gian Lorenzo Bernini, located in Piazza di Spagna, and the graceful little fountain set into the wall on Via della Fontanella di Borghese .
To promote the conservation and enhancement of Rome's characteristic water fountains as an integral part of the urban heritage, Acea recently installed new "nasoni" near the Colosseum.
An application that maps water points in the capitalWith the aim of making this widespread network of drinking fountains, fountains and water houses easily accessible to visitors and residents, Acea launched the Acquea app a few months ago, which maps all the water points in the capital and allows you to view the nearest point to quench your thirst and the route to get there.
Available in three languages – Italian, English and Spanish – and with a user-friendly interface, the application not only maps drinking water sources, but also describes the properties of the water at each individual water point , thus verifying its quality .
Features such as suggested itineraries – sports, nature, tourism, jubilee –, hydration monitoring and gamification activities are also available.
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