MEETING PROJECT
OSLO (NORWAY) 20 – 24 September 2011
acqua
vερό
woda
agua
vatten
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.
Under the Medici family, fountains were
not just sources of water, but also
symbols of the power and benevolence
of the city's rulers.
They became central elements not only of
city squares, but also of the new Italian
Renaissance garden.
Past and present in the history of the fountains
in Florence
Realized by Bernardo Buontalenti in 1608
Jean-Michel Folon 2002.
Santo Spirito square
Fortezza garden
In Florence we usually
use water from the Arno.
The typical little fountain we can
find in Florence
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.
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.
ACQUA EROGATA PER REGIONE.
Anno 2008, m3 per abitante - Fonte: Istat,
Quantity of water used in every Italian
region in 2008
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
ph factor
30.2
Calcium
7.1
Chloride
238
Conductivity
0.1
Fluordine
100
Hydrogeniccarbonate
6.9
Magnesium
5.7
Nitrate
0.9
Potassium
8.2
Silica
6.5
Sodium
0.2
Stroncium
21.4
Sulphates
milligrams per liter (mg/l)
Can you drink tap water in Florence? Sure, but it doesn’t taste great.
However, Publiacqua and the city of Florence have launched a major campaign called “drink
the mayor’s water”.
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.