MEETING PROJECT OSLO (NORWAY) 20 – 24 September 2011

vatten agua acqua v ερό woda su vann

Acqua di monte, acqua di fonte, acqua piovana, acqua sovrana, acqua che odo, acqua che lodo, acqua che squilli, acqua che brilli, acqua che canti e piangi, acqua che ridi e muggi.

Tu sei la vita e sempre sempre fuggi.

(Gabriele D’Annunzio)

Florence

, our city, lies on the river Arno, one of the most important river in central Italy.

Over the centuries the river has been crucial for the development of finance and trade in Tuscany. The river

Arno

originates from Mount Falterona in the Casentino area (Apennines).

On the right you can see the source of the river Arno

The river is very important, but we remember some bad events related to it. For example, in 1966 the river flooded the city, causing the death of many people and damaging thousands of works of art and rare books. At its highest point, the flood water reached 22 feet.

At the end of the 14th century the

Medici

family became leader of Florence. The Medici ruled Florence for 3 centuries and were very powerful.

The

fountain of the Neptune, in Piazza Signoria, was

the

first public fountain in Florence. Cosimo I de’ Medici,

Duke of Florence from 1537 to 1574, gave the work to

Bartolomeo Ammannati

who made it the symbol of the Florentine dominion over the sea. The statue is made of white Carrara marble and it’s now called

“il Biancone

” by the Florentines.

They became central elements not only of city squares, but also of the new Italian Renaissance garden. Under the Medici family, fountains were not just sources of water, but also symbols of the power and benevolence of the city's rulers.

Past and present in the history of the fountains in Florence Realized by Bernardo Buontalenti in 1608 Jean-Michel Folon 2002.

Fortezza garden Santo Spirito square

The typical little fountain we can find in Florence In Florence we usually use water from the Arno.

Where does

water

come from?

The Water Cycle

The water cycle is the simplest natural cycle on Earth. Solar energy evaporates water from the ocean, lakes and rivers. Millions of litres of water rise into the atmosphere as an invisible gas - water vapour. This process is called evaporation. As the water vapour is pushed over the land by winds and rises over mountains, the water vapour cools and turns back into tiny water droplets, forming clouds. The droplets joining together is termed condensation. These droplets fall to earth as rain (precipitation). The rain runs into streams and rivers, which eventually flow into lakes or the sea and the cycle begins all over again.

ACQUA EROGATA PER REGIONE. Anno 2008, m3 per abitante - Fonte: Istat, Quantity of water used in every Italian region in 2008

The use of water in Italy has increased +1,2% over the last ten years.

In 2008 92,5 cubic meters per person were used.

The quantity of water that each person uses is about 152 cubic meters.

Most Italians think that tap water is not good, they prefer buying and drinking mineral water. Italy is the third largest consumer of mineral water in the world. Every year each Italian consumes almost 270 litres of mineral water. 98% of the Italian families drink mineral water and spend about € 320,00 per year.

The use of mineral water Investments in advertising

LEVISSIMA

WATER &

PANNA

WATER

LEVISSIMA

WATER

It is the most consumed one in Italy.

Its establishment is situated in Valdisotto, and its source is situated in the north of Italy, near the Park of Stelvio.

The sources are fed by the snow and the glaciers of the area.

Nowadays Levissima water has kept its features of lightnees and purity. It’s a leader in the market of mineral water with about 800 million of bottles produced a year.

PANNA

WATER

It flows from a source situated in Tuscany, in the Apennines Mountains. In 1959 it entered the market as the first italian water to be sold in plastic bottles.

Panna Water is being also exported in America and Asia.

LEVISSIMA

WATER

Calcium Magnesium Sodium Potassium Bicarbonates Sulfates Nitrate Silica Neighing Fluorides 2,1 1,7 1,9 1,8 57,1 16,9 1,6 15,9 0 0,2

milligrams per liter (mg/l)

PANNA

WATER analysis

8.2

30.2

7.1

238 0.1

100 6.9

5.7

0.9

ph factor Calcium Chloride Conductivity Fluordine Hydrogeniccarbonate Magnesium Nitrate Potassium 8.2

6.5

0.2

21.4

Silica Sodium Stroncium Sulphates milligrams per liter (mg/l)

Can you drink tap water in Florence?

However, Publiacqua and the city of Florence have launched a major campaign called “drink the mayor’s water”.

Sure, but it doesn’t taste great.

The Town Hall of Florence is trying to promote the use of tap water in some different ways. For example, on 13th March 1999, the first “high quality fountain” (“

fontanello ad alta qualità

“) was opened in the Anconella public garden.

http://www.publiacqua.it/

The Fontanelli ad Alta Qualità, or filtered water fountains,

are a viable alternative to bottled water. Nowadays there are

12

fontanelli in Florence.

In 2009, 6 million litres of water were distributed by these fountains, and families saved over a million euros in water and 15.000 kilograms of plastic waste weren’t introduced into our delicate environment. These are the numbers from Publiacqua for all the fontanelli in our area: in Florence 3.3 million liters of water were distributed in 2009 and 1.9 million in the first 6 months of 2010.

High quality drinking fountains

In Piazza della Signoria in the heart of Florence, 30 thousand liters of

high quality water

are delivered in a week, really a good initiative of our administration to serve the tourists but also the citizens who can only drink a glass or filling a bottle.

Water is the very source of all life on this planet, its quality and integrity are vitally important to all forms of life. The quality of our life is directly connected to the quality of our water.