Nasone fountain in sterling silver (typical roman fountain!)

This silver fountain was created by one of the craftsmen of our shop, born in Rome in 1910 and located in via Margutta 57, very close from the Spanish Steps. A "Nasone", also called " fontanella" (plural fontanelle, lit. "little fountains"), is a type of drinking fountain found in Rome, Italy. Literally meaning "large nose", they got their name from their characteristic design first introduced in the 1870s. There are approximately 2,500–2,800 nasoni in Rome, supplying citizens and tourists with free drinking water. Most Nasoni share a design in the shape of a column. The form of the water spout varies but most nasoni have a metal spout protruding at mid-height which looks like a nose and gives the fountains their name "large noses". Other designs include wolf-heads, dragons and lions.Most are made of simple stone, although in the 1920s and 1930s nasoni were made of travertine marble, some of which remain today, mostly in parks and the Foro Italico area. The city of Rome began installing Nasoni in the 1870s to provide a water supply for citizens. The exact year is not known: sources note both 1872 and 1874 as the first time a Nasone was installed. The fountains' design went unchanged for decades. The citizens of Rome love Nasoni!