What tourists need to know about the bottled water being sold illegally on Rome's streets.Despite visiting a city where water flows freely from drinking fountains around the clock, tourists in Rome continue to pay exorbitant prices for bottled water to unlicensed street traders.Not only is the water sold at well above the market price - for cash only and never with a receipt - tourists would be horrified to know the dubious origins of these bottles. Visitors to Rome, often struggling with the heat, regularly give in to persistent street hawkers and fork out up to €5 for a small plastic bottle of water. Of course tourists could get fresh drinking water from the roughly 2,500 nasoni fountains dotted all over the city, and even avail of the sparkling variety from the newer water kiosks which also have phone charging points. However, perhaps due to not bringing a refillable flask or maybe wrongly assuming that nasoni water is not drinkable, every day in Rome hordes of tourists hand over cash for bottled water from unauthorised street traders. Nasone, sampietrini, Colosseum: iconic Rome pic.twitter.com/HwlNht4wKa — Wanted in Rome (@wantedinrome) October 27, 2024 What most tourists don't know is that, before being sold, these plastic bottles are hidden under bushes and in drains. The traders then try to make their sales while the refrigerated water is still ice cold. The phenomenon is particularly rampant around the Colosseum, with hawkers generally storing their merchandise in nearby hiding places on the Caelian Hill, where it appears to be delivered. Even worse is that often these bottles are filled with tap water before being sold - unsealed - to unsuspecting tourists. Wanted in Rome recently saw a pair of traders fill around a dozen water bottles from the nasone fountain at the viewing point overlooking the Circus Maximus. On Monday, municipal police officers reportedly seized 4,000 illegal items on sale around Rome, including counterfeit bags and bottles of unsealed water outside the Colosseum. Police said an investigation will soon get under way to trace the origin of the illicit bottled water in an effort to break the supply chain. The news serves as a reminder for tourists in Rome to enjoy the free water from the nasoni fountains - available 24 hours a day - and avoid the water being hawked illegally on the streets.

Despite visiting a city where water flows freely from drinking fountains around the clock, tourists in Rome continue to pay exorbitant prices for bottled water to unlicensed street traders. Not only is the water sold at well above the market price - for cash only and never with a receipt - tourists would be horrified to know the dubious origins of these bottles. Visitors to Rome, often struggling with the heat, regularly give in to persistent street hawkers and fork out up to €5 for a small plastic bottle of water. Of course tourists could get fresh drinking water from the roughly dotted all over the city, and even avail of the sparkling variety from the newer which also have phone charging points. However, perhaps due to not bringing a refillable flask or maybe wrongly assuming that nasoni water is not drinkable, every day in Rome hordes of tourists hand over cash for bottled water from unauthorised street traders. Nasone, sampietrini, Colosseum: iconic Rome — Wanted in Rome (@wantedinrome) What most tourists don't know is that, before being sold, these plastic bottles are hidden under bushes and in drains. The traders then try to make their sales while the refrigerated water is still ice cold. The phenomenon is particularly rampant around the Colosseum, with hawkers generally storing their merchandise in nearby hiding places on , where it appears to be delivered. Even worse is that often these bottles are filled with tap water before being sold - unsealed - to unsuspecting tourists. Wanted in Rome recently saw a pair of traders fill around a dozen water bottles from the nasone fountain at the viewing point overlooking the Circus Maximus. On Monday, municipal police officers reportedly seized 4,000 illegal items on sale around Rome, including counterfeit bags and bottles of unsealed water outside the Colosseum. Police said an investigation will soon get under way to trace the origin of the illicit bottled water in an effort to break the supply chain. The news serves as a reminder for tourists in Rome to enjoy the free water from the - available 24 hours a day - and avoid the water being hawked illegally on the streets.