Grace Massoud wrote this article in MTV Website:
Pack your bags boys and girls. We’re headed to Italy!
In the Abruzzo area, Nicola D’Auria, owner of Dora Sarchese winery, came up with the delightful concept of a 24/7 wine fountain after enlisting the help of his architect Rocco Valentini. Since 2016, residents and visitors can stop by the small-town fountain anytime to quench their thirst with velvety red wine for free. Imagine that?
In the commune of Caldari di Ortona, this brilliant invention was created mainly for the thousands of people on the Cammino di San Tommaso yearly pilgrimage between Rome and Ortona. It’s a gesture of good faith to the town and was surely not intended as a way to encourage people to get drunk, as proclaimed by the winery. Naturally, there’s always a big line at this push-button drinking ‘fontana del vino’. In the weekends, reservations are required.
In retrospect, it is not the first public wine fountain in Italy. There have been accounts of many wine fountains in Europe. Venice boasted one in St Mark’s Square for its annual carnival.
Going back in history, Tudor England’s King Henry VIII and France’s King Francis I erected a wine fountain for courtiers to enjoy during their meeting in 1520, as depicted in a painting from the UK’s Royal Collection Trust. Some court-goers were portrayed collapsed by the fountain’s base.
With no more gilding the lily, I strongly approve this message and most certainly plan on visiting this 24/7 fountain. The Dora Sarchese Winery has shown solidarity and expressed love, kindness and generosity by giving away free flowing silky red wine. It is a sight for sore eyes and an act of love that restores our faith in humanity when we bear witness to it.
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