Bocca della Verità (Mouth of Truth)

Rom · Italien · Church

Put your hand in the marble mouth and lie, and the jaws snap shut. One unfaithful wife tricked it — and the stone has not forgotten.

The great marble mask in the portico of Santa Maria in Cosmedin was originally an ancient drain cover, but from the Middle Ages it served as a test of truth: anyone who swore falsely with a hand in its jaws would have it bitten off. The most-told Roman legend concerns a woman accused of adultery, who arranged for her lover to throw his arms around her in the crowd just before she swore — so she could truthfully say no man but her husband and that madman had ever touched her. The mouth let go. Ever since, Romans say, the stone is doubly watchful. In the same portico the executioner Mastro Titta was said to be seen at dawn, on his way to the scaffolds by the river.

FAQ

Hvor ligger Bocca della Verità (Mouth of Truth)?

Bocca della Verità (Mouth of Truth) ligger i Rom, Italien.