BootsnAll Travel Community

Ive been told that there are more minerals in the water in Italy than Americans are used to. Is this true?

Well, just like anywhere, the water varies depending upon the situation. I seriously doubt that, as a rule, it is true. Surely you know that the mineral content in public water varies between Pulga and Gridley.

"Hard" water is not a bad thing, unless you're a tea kettle.

I was more worried about getting ill. I had been told that american stomachs cant handle the water at first. Id rather avoid getting sick if I can.

I drank it everyday when I studied abroad, right out of the tap all over Italy. I don't think it bothered me really.

I have the world's most sensitive stomach, and I've never had problems with the water in Italy. I got sick once, on my first trip to Italy, but that was after drinking grappa. No matter what the nice man at the restaurant tells you, it's not Venetian canal water. Hell, I might have been better off if it had been...

The water in Italy does have more minerals - specifically more calcium. I spent three months there and was told that it is actually fine to drink for a short stay, but after awhile it will build up and then could cause you to not feel so well. So, it all depends on how long you are spending there, but I wouldn't worry about it too much.

I drank A LOT of tap water in Italy and never, ever had a problem. I even filled up my trusty Nalgene at those flowing faucets on the street. Totally fine. Yum in fact in many cases.

I was just in Italy and I drank a bunch of tap water and I felt rather ill, so I stopped drinking it and felt better. I'm not sure how much my queasiness had to do with the water though, since I was feeling sick before I got there (I even puked in the plane bathroom for the first time ever- I'm usually never motion sick) so might be completely unrelated. But I did feel better after I stopped drinking it (maybe psychological....)