BOCCA DELLA VERITÀ

Description

Essentials about the Bocca della Verità in brief

A sight of the more bizarre kind in Rome is the Bocca della Verità (“Mouth of Truth”). It is a disc-shaped relief with human facial features, placed in the portico of the church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin. The name of the Bocca della Verità refers to a legend that says that anyone who puts his hand in its mouth and does not tell the truth will lose it.

The relief on the Bocca della Verità

The relief is made of Pavonazzetto marble, a slightly grayish and relatively fine-grained type of marble from the former Roman province of Phrygia in present-day Turkey. The disc has a diameter of about 175 centimeters, a thickness of 19 centimeters and a weight of about 1,200 kilograms. It is pierced by a total of five holes: Two for the eyes, two for the nostrils and one for the said mouth. Around the five holes entwine flowing hair and a long beard, which give the face a mystical appearance.

The original use of the Bocca della Verità

The original use of the Bocca della Verità cannot be clarified with absolute certainty. The most common thesis today is that the relief was a kind of canal or well cover of the Cloaca Maxima, the canal system of ancient Rome. There are some indications in favor of this: In the recumbent state, the holes of the eyes, nose and mouth would be located at the deepest points, which would explain them as inlets. The strong wear of the protruding parts is characteristic for a relief that lay on the ground for a long time and was polished bare by many feet. The present site of the relief is only a short distance from the Cloaca Maxima.

The display of the Bocca della Verità

The representation on the relief is also no longer clearly identifiable due to the poor state of preservation. Among others, Oceanos (the divine personification of all rivers in Greek mythology), Triton (a sea god of Greek mythology), Faunus (the Roman god of the forest and nature) or Jupiter Ammon (the Egyptian Jupiter).

The Bocca della Verità as a place of interest

The Bocca della Verità became famous especially through the movie Roman Holiday with Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck. Santa Maria in Cosmedin became a popular destination for tourists. Today, you usually have to stand in a long line of tourists to try your hand at the Bocca della Verità. Incidentally, there is no record of how many people have already lost their hand.