The Italian Fountain of Life

The Italian Fountain of Life

One of my favorite countries of all time is Italy. And I am a very lucky person that I have been there this year on several occasions already. This year, 2011, is an important year in Italian history. On March 17^th most of the country celebrated its 150th anniversary of its unification. As a nation-state, Italy is actually even younger than the United States. The home of the ancient Roman Empire became a nation as a whole just 150 years ago, on March 17, 1861. On that day, Victor Emmanuel II became the first king of a unified Italy.

 During my travels through Italy my attention is always drawn to the amazing looking water fountains you will find anywhere you go. No matter if you are in a big city or a small little town in the middle of nowhere. You will find a mixture of different styles and backgrounds and the one fountain is even bigger and more fascinating than the other. A fountain (from the Latin "fontis", a source or spring) is a marvelous piece of architecture that pours water into its surrounding or pushes it into the air. In addition to providing drinking water, fountains were and are used for decoration and to celebrate their builders where a fountain has two functions; it is a direct water supply or has decorative purposes. World famous Italian fountains can be found anywhere in Italy but some of the most known can be found in Rome at the Trevi fountain and at Piazza Navona (which has three remarkable fountains).

These fountains also have my professional interest. Italians are well known for buying water bottles in the supermarket by the dozen (or more). Many strong water bottlers originate from Italy, such as companies like San Pellegrino and San Benedetto. However, the current economic climate has made sure that even in Italy people go more and more to local water fountains to collect water. And not just free of charge. In Italy there are several water fountains where you can pay with your personal pay card (local bancomat system) to get some water from the local water fountain. In case you are wondering if the water you are getting from these fountains is safe and treated I can assure you it is (at least in most of the cases). Actually one of my Italian partners has installed over 200 UV-systems for water disinfection at various fountains across the country. An interesting story, wouldn’t you agree? In a country where the culture is so strong in regards of buying bottles of water, people actually go to their local water fountain to get (UV-treated) water. For free or even paid. Next time I am in Italy I will again refill my empty bottle with water from the local fountain. And hey, that I have the chance to study and adore these creative sculptures in detail when filling my bottle, that is just another welcome side effect.

In case you are interested in some more details about our UV-systems for this kind of water fountain applications in Italy (or anywhere else), feel free to contact me. Grazie, a presto!

 Sandor Willems

 swillems@viqua.com