La Bocca della Verità, or Mouth of Truth, was made famous in the 1953 movie, “Roman Holiday,” when Gregory Peck scared Audrey Hepburn by pretending his hand had been bitten off. The famous face is still there, and the scene is re-enacted over and over and over and over again…
The Mouth of Truth is in the portico of the church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin in Rome. The marble sculpture is said to be a representation of an ancient god from the 1st century. Legend has it that if you tell a lie with your hand in the mouth, it will be bitten off.
I remember when I was there as a student many years ago, you could walk right up to it from the sidewalk. It is now behind a tall iron fence, around which a queue of tourists wait for their turn to be photographed.
I stood outside the fence and became fascinated by the poses that this group of friends made.
I just wonder what the ancient god thinks of it all…
One response to “Rome | Nothing But the Truth”
Holy buttresses! It does look far more touristic than this serial expat would prefer. But how could an architecture lover who swoons over Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn resist?