Italian Word of the Week: Fontana

As summer heats up in Italy, there’s one feature of every town that gets more attention than any other: la fontana. And it’s the Italian Word of the Week.

FONTANA (fohn-TAHN-ah):

fountain

Now, if you’re in a big Italian city like, say, Roma, well you’ll get your fill of fountains of the big, ornate persuasion like La Fontana di Trevi (Trevi Fountain) (pictured above) or the fountains in Piazza Navona:

But then there are the little drinking fountains sprinkled all around Italy (including in big cities), and unless there is a sign that specifically says the acqua is “non potabile” (not drinkable), you should be OK to sidle up your water bottle and fill ‘er up.

This one is in a little side street between the Colosseum and Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II, recently spotted when I was in the city for the Expat Author Book & App Fair held at The Beehive Hotel & Cafe (photos & recap coming soon)! Yes, it’s a little graffiti-ed, and that’s why I took a photo . . . those of you who read Bleeding Espresso know that I call my Calabrian other half, Paolo, “P” on the blog. Hee hee….

** Side note: especially if you’re in rural Italy, always defer to locals on the issue of which water is drinkable as they will direct you to the best fountains around. **

In any event, these little fountains strategically placed around town are also great for rinsing dirt off your feet and freshening up after walking around in the hot sun, though I’m not sure whether that’s considered a brutta figura or not–but IMHO sometimes you just gotta wear your tourist hat proudly if it means scoring some much needed relief from the heat.

And that’s really what the fontana, no matter big or small, is awesome for in the summertime: a little wet love (ow) to help get you through the day.

Alla prossima!
Until next time!