The Mouth of Truth
The Mouth of Truth (Italian: Bocca della Verità) is an ancient Roman marble mask set into the portico of Santa Maria in Cosmedin church on the Piazza della Bocca della Verità in Rome, at the site of the ancient Forum Boarium. Carved in the form of a large face — almost certainly a drain cover or a decorative element from a classical fountain — the mask became famous in the Middle Ages for a legend stating that it would bite off the hand of any liar who placed it inside the open mouth. Today it remains one of Rome’s most visited curiosities, with queues of tourists forming daily to test their honesty.
At a glance
- Type
- Ancient Roman marble relief mask (probable drain cover or fountain element)
- Period
- 1st–4th century AD
- Style
- Ancient Roman decorative marble carving
- Location
- Portico of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, Piazza della Bocca della Verità, Rome, Italy
- Coordinates
- 41.8858° N, 12.4628° E
Overview
The Mouth of Truth is an ancient Roman marble mask in Rome, which stands against the left wall of the portico of the Santa Maria in Cosmedin church, at the Piazza della Bocca della Verità, the site of the ancient Forum Boarium. According to an enduring medieval legend, it will bite off the hand of any liar who places their hand in its mouth. It still attracts many visitors who insert their hands, and the queue to photograph one’s hand in the mask is a permanent feature of the piazza. The mask weighs approximately 1,300 kilograms and measures about 1.75 metres in diameter.
History
The mask’s exact original function is debated among scholars: the most widely held hypothesis is that it served as a drain cover (impluvium) in a classical building or as a decorative element of a fountain associated with the nearby Temple of Portunus or Hercules Victor. It was moved to its current location in the portico of Santa Maria in Cosmedin in 1632, by which time the legend of the truth-telling mask was already well established in Roman popular culture. The church itself dates to the 6th century and stands on the remains of a Roman temple.
What you see
The mask depicts a bearded male face in high relief, with hollow eyes and an open mouth forming the central aperture into which visitors insert their hands. The carving is in travertine or marble and shows considerable weathering despite centuries of indoor display under the portico. The face may represent a river god, a sea deity such as Oceanus, or the horned river-god Triton — the identity remains unknown. The surrounding portico of Santa Maria in Cosmedin preserves several columns and architectural fragments from antiquity, and the church interior contains a fine Cosmatesque floor from the 12th century.
Cultural significance
The Mouth of Truth became internationally famous after its appearance in the 1953 film Roman Holiday, in which Gregory Peck famously pretended his hand had been bitten off, to Audrey Hepburn’s alarm. The scene transformed the mask from a local Roman curiosity into a global tourist icon. The mask is also a significant archaeological object in its own right, preserving evidence of Roman decorative stone carving and the Classical mythology of aquatic deities that pervaded the Forum Boarium, Rome’s ancient cattle market and river port.
Practical information
- Address
- Piazza della Bocca della Verità 18, 00186 Rome, Italy
- Opening hours
- Daily approximately 09:30–17:00 (check current hours with Santa Maria in Cosmedin church); a small entry fee is sometimes charged by the church
- Notes
- Queues can be very long in peak season (July–August); visiting early morning or late afternoon reduces waiting time
Getting there
The Piazza della Bocca della Verità is in the Aventino/Circus Maximus area of Rome. By metro, take Line B to Circo Massimo and walk 5 minutes north along the Tiber. Bus lines 23, 44, 81, and 160 serve the piazza. The Circus Maximus, the Mouth of Truth, and the Forum Boarium temples form a natural walking itinerary from the Palatine Hill.
Sources & resources
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