science

Nasone

Nasone is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Nasone rather than just read about it. In short: A nasone (plural nasoni), also called a 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.

Key takeaways

Nasone belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Nasone to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Nasone from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

A nasone (plural nasoni), also called a 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 people with free drinking water.

Design

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 cast iron, 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 water coming from the nasoni is the same supplied to the city's households and thus safe for drinking. It is continuously running from the fountain through a hole at the bottom of the spout. Additionally, most nasoni have a hole located at the top of the spout, allowing thirsty people to drink from the fountain more easily by blocking the bottom hole and forcing the water upwards.

History

Rome’s long-standing tradition of supplying fresh water through public fountains dates back to antiquity, when aqueducts fed hundreds of public basins (lacus) across the city. 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. At the peak of their popularity, there were approximately 5,000 nasoni in Rome. While their number has dwindled as domestic water connections have become commonplace, there are still between 2,500 and 2,800 nasoni in greater Rome today, one tenth of them in the historical center. Acea, the company responsible for maintaining the city's water supply, installed ten casa dell'acqua (lit. "house of the water") kiosks in 2015. Described as "hi-tech nasoni", these provide free tap and sparkling water as well as information for tourists and a place to recharge mobile devices.

Benefits Aside from the social-welfare benefits of supplying drinkable water to citizens (especially those without their own access), nasoni serve as needed ventilation valves for the Roman water-supply system. In addition, constantly flowing water keeps the water in the pipes from stagnating, which might otherwise allow bacteria to proliferate. While this has been criticized by some as a waste of drinking water, only 1% of the water is lost because of the nasoni running continuously, compared to nearly 50% of water lost due to old and leaky pipes. According to estimates, operating a nasone costs the city of Rome approximately 3–5 Euro per day, depending on the strength of the water flow.

Shut-offs In July 2017, Acea began to shut off some nasoni because drought had diminished the nearby Lake Bracciano, the city's main water reserve. The move was criticized from multiple quarters in Rome, citing concerns that the decision will be hurtful to Rome's homeless population and local animals, both of which rely on fresh water from these fountains.

Variants

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Nasone

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Nasone claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Nasone before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Nasone ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Nasone

In research: Nasone appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Nasone in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Nasone is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1870s introductions, Drinking fountains, Fountains in Rome, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Nasone outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Nasone in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Nasone means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Nasone out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Nasone in simple terms?

Why does Nasone matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Nasone?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Nasone.