Can you really drink out of those fountains in Rome?

Question

I saw samantha brown do it on TV, and i was wondering if you can really go up to those big fountains in Rome and just drink out of them?

Looks like fun!

Answer 1

yuk! some ppl will put their feet in the fountains. you also need to look out for the pick pockets by every fountain. very common in Rome

Answer 2

Yes.  The water is all filtered. Buy a bottle of water at a supermarket (not a pizza shop or restaurant...too expensive) and refill at the fountains. The water is cold and clean.  There are some that may not look clean because there is old water in the basin, but the water coming out of the tap is very clean.  We were just there two weeks ago and if not for that water, we would have passed out a few times.  

Answer 3

yes, 'cause in italy all the public water system is drinkable!!

only when u see "non potabile" = not drinkable u shouldn't drink there..

Answer 4

Yes, the public water system in Roma Italy is COMPLETELY drinkable and actually, I find, tastes better than many other brands of water. It's clean and crisp and everyone does it!

Answer 5

Yes, we drank out of them when we were there and I saw lots of Romans filling up their water bottles when they were waiting for the bus.  It taste very cold (well it was January) and fresh.

Answer 6

Hello,

Yes, you can drink out of the fountains in Rome unless there is a sign saying "non potabile".  I have never seen one of those signs in all my travels to Rome.  You also don't want to drink the water that is in any of the fountain basins.  People put their feet and throw coins in the fountains and the basins are not very clean.  You want to get your water from the spouts that are feeding the fountains.   If you come across a smaller fountain on the side of a building or on a sidewalk, you can drink from it.  Most will have a spout where the water is pointing into the basin.  If you look at the spout very closely you might see a hole on the top side of the spout.  If you plug up the bottom of the spout with your finger the water will shoot out of the other hole and make a fountain for you to drink from.  You won't have to cup the water in your hand, just use it like a regular fountain.  The water is cold and clean and tastes great.  Enjoy.

Donna

Answer 7

yes, it's drinkable water. Just don't drink where you see the sign "non potabile" (=don't drinkable), ciao

Answer 8

Hi there!

There are some fountains that you should not drink from.  There will be signs that will tell you if you shouldn't drink the water.  You might also see signs that say "non potabile" which means "non drinkable".

DO NOT drink from the Trevi fountain as there are a lot of coins in the water, and you probably don't want all that metal in your system (not to mention all the hands that have touched the coins that have landed in the water).

My advice would be to stick to bottled water and avoid drinking from the public fountains unless you see the locals doing it.