It sounds too good to be true – but the fountain at Caldari di Ortona in Abruzzo is real.
Built by the local Dora Sarchese vineyard, it will dispense free wine for thirsty tourists and pilgrims making the 310km journey on the Cammino di San Tommaso between Rome and Ortona to visit the city’s cathedral.
Inspired by a similar fountain on Spain’s famous pilgrimage route, the Camino de Santiago de Compostela, it’s also open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Raise a glass
The vineyard’s Facebook page does stress the fountain is not for “drunkards” or “louts”, but thousands of visitors have already filled their glasses in its first week alone.
It’s not Italy’s first free wine fountain either. The best-known one is at Marino’s annual Grape Festival and made headlines in 2008 when a plumbing mistake meant the wine was re-routed to local homes.
At the time, Mayor Adriano Palozzi said: “Apparently the people living around the square who got the wine coming out of their taps were very surprised, they thought that it might be some kind of present from the local council.”
Wine on tap? We’ll drink to that.
