Expo Remnants - Expo 2015 Milan...Thirsty?
- jason.griffing
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
Attending an Expo is a day filled with amazing architecture, interesting exhibitions and lots of food options. A day at the Expo can be long, and while enjoyable, it can be tiring. You always need to set aside time to rest, get off your feet, find some shade and quench your thirst while spending a day in the sun when exploring an Expo.
At Expo 2025 Osaka, there were many very hot and humid days, Expo attendees made mention of the lack of facilities to supply drinking water and the difficulty finding them, as well as the lines to get water once they did find them. Providing an easy supply of public drinking fountains is a very important feature at an Expo.
Milan and Italy are known for their drinking fountains. Milan especially is known for its iconic Vedovelle - Little Widows, in English, or more commonly called Widow Fountains. Widow Fountains do not turn off and have a constant running stream of water. This reference is comparing them to the constant stream of tears of the grieving widows who lost their husbands in World War I. They also have a little dragon head which is the spout for the water, so they are also referred to as Drago Verde - Green Dragons. With Milan's reputation, fountains were more prevalent at the Expo 2015 site.
The connection that the Milanese have to drinking fountains also found its way to the Expo 2015 site. Expomuseum Deputy Director, Jason Griffing, attended Expo 2015 and was very intrigued with the local fountains as well as the modern fountains that were more prevalent across the Expo site than at Expo 2025. While there were no Widow Fountains at the Expo site, the modern fountains that were across the Milan Expo site were just as intriguing. One great feature was they could service 4 guests at a time.
Jason returned to the Expo 2015 site in 2023 to see what remained and he discovered while the site is still in the process of being transformed, one of the drinking fountains is preserved for continued use. Watch the short video below to see what Expo 2015 Milan had to offer attendees for drinking fountains and see if you are just as surprised as he was!
Expomuseum would love to hear from you..please share any Expo Remnants from Expo sites you have visited!