Kiosk offers tourists still and sparkling water.

Tourists visiting the Colosseum now have an extra opportunity to fill up their water bottles, with refrigerated still or sparkling water, thanks to a new water dispensing kiosk.

The facility, located in the shadow of the Arch of Constantine near the Via Sacra, also has power points allowing tourists to charge their mobile phones and tablets.

The dark green Casa dell'Acqua, designed in the style of Rome's hexagonal newspaper stands, is the result of collaboration between the city, energy supplier ACEA and the Colosseum archaeological park.

The drinking water point was inaugurated on Wednesday, 10 years after one of the first such facility was installed outside the Colosseo subway station, and two months after the installation of three new nasoni fountains on the Via Sacra.

Over the last decade, the city has installed numerous water dispensing kiosks in busy tourist areas, outside metro stations and in parks.

• Nasoni: Rome's free drinking fountains

Alfonsina Russo, director of the Colosseum archaeological park, said the move is part of the park's commitment to eco-sustainability, describing the new service as "indispensible" for visitors especially in the hot summer months.

Russo also said the new water supply, which can be geolocated with ACEA's Waidy Wow app, will act as a deterrent to the illegal practice of hawkers selling bottles of water to tourists on the street.

Before being offered for sale, these water bottles are usually hidden in unhygienic places such as under drain covers and in nearby undergrowth on the Caelian hill.

Photo Wanted in Rome, 13 June 2024.