What is that thing that looks like a sink that sits beside a toilet in a European bathroom?

Question

In a bathroom in Europe (that I saw in Italy) has a toilet, a sink, a bathtub and this other sink-like object. what is it, and what is the purpose of having one?

Answer 1

Bidet.

for but cleaning

Answer 2

That is a"Bidet".

Its purpose is to wash your butt with a water jet after you have used the toilet.

Answer 3

a water fountain, you should never drink out of this one!

Answer 4

A bidet is for washing private parts; people are supposed to wash their private parts for hygienic reasons: although it's true it's also used after using the toilet, that's definitely not the only time they do (and anyway is not used *instead* of paper, like I heard once, but *after* paper).

In Italy there's a bidet in every bathroom, American don't even know what it is. So American stereotype saying Italians are "dirty" is even more silly... :-)

Answer 5

A fixture similar in design to a toilet that is straddled for bathing the genitals and the posterior parts.

Answer 6

Its a bidet or a butt shower!  After you go to the bathroom, you move over to the bidet and turn it on and a shower of water cleans your private parts.  Bidets are very popular in Europe.  

Answer 7

That would be a bidet. It is used for feminine hygeine