The Facchino Drinking Fountain

One of the fountains that I have used almost every day of class to fill my water bottle is the Fontanella del Facchino. The statue is of a chubby man holding onto a wine barrel. The Barrel has a gash in it and that is where the water flows out of. According to the DK Eyewitness Travel Guide,  the statue is one of Rome's talking statues like that of the Pasquino. The fountain was created around 1590 and was moved from the Corso, to where it is located now along the wall of Banco Di Roma. The statue most likely represents a member of the Universita Degli Acquaroli, which was a fraternity of water carriers. It is also thought that the statue could represent Martin Luther, or the porter Abbondio Rizzio, who died carrying a barrel. I cannot count the number of times I've visited this statue to get a drink. It is conveniently located about 20 feet from the door to our classroom, so every break we get my fellow classmates and I all run to fill up. I've nicknamed him the Buddha because of his round figure and wise face. A couple of my friends have actually started calling him that too, so when thirsty, refer to Buddha!