Editorial photo #13694090 Human Interest
Free Public Water From Historic Iron Fountain
A person draws free drinking water from a historic cast-iron public fountain in Castelmezzano, Basilicata, southern Italy, on February 7, 2026. Public drinking fountains are a longstanding feature of Italian urban tradition, representing access to water as a common good, a principle upheld by Italian law following the 2011 referendum that opposed the privatization of water services. As climate change increases pressure on freshwater resources across the Mediterranean, these fountains are seen as symbols of the right to water. (Photo by Matteo Della Torre/NurPhoto)
