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It is likely that out-and-out fans of Roman Fountains - even if they have never placed much importance on this story - have spotted where I am heading and, in their hearts, have already accepted or rejected my new theory. Nonetheless, let me explain it for those readers who are not so well-informed. Well... the ancient tradition in Narducci's collection tells us that the porter who went by night to draw water from the Trevi so that he could sell it the following day was not really an ordinary porter in the vague, generally accepted or "unionized" sense, but actually a water seller,i.e. in the precise term used at the time an "acquarolo". Obviously, to take water from the Trevi fountain he would have to pay his dues, as stated in the following document from the beginning of the 16th century whereby: "every acquarolo who takes water from the [Trevi] fountain continually all year round must pay five Julii in all: idem, for all horses and mules that take on water from the fountain five balocchi must be paid for each beast". But, you may be wondering, who were these so-called "water sellers"? You need to know a little bit of history to understand. According to "Curiosum urbis Romae", that valuable, if extremely concise, guide to the monuments of Rome written at the beginning of the fourth century AD (in the age of Constantine), the capital of the Empire had, as well as the thermal baths, 965 other baths and 1352 public fountains, all fed from 19 aqueducts - an abundance of water to make modern Romans envious. This lasted until 537, when the Goths were unable to conquer the besieged city and Vitige, their leader, had the bright idea of obstructing the aqueducts and, to make matters worse, Belisario, who was defending Rome, thought it a good ploy to block the mouths of all the aqueducts in the city for fear that the enemy would use them to get inside. It's easy to imagine how miserable this made conditions in Rome. Despite later attempts (still before the 15th century) to reactivate some of the water supplies, the work was almost always inefficient and insufficient. So, if the Romans wanted to drink as well as wash their necks they had to turn to their very own River Tiber to which, once more - as in the distant and heroic days of their origins - they had to go for water, which they stored for several days in cisterns or huge receptacles before using it. So, since every true Roman either did not wish or was unable to fetch his own water, it was logical that groups of people should get together to take on the inconvenience in exchange for remuneration. That is how (certainly from the middle of the 6th century) the real "water sellers" - the "acquaroli" came about and, as time went on, they, like so many other trades, formed their own Confraternities or Corporations.
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