Bocca della Verità

A round piece of marble once used as an ancient manhole cover, the Bocca della Verità (Mouth of Truth) is one of Rome’s great curiosities. According to legend, if you put your hand in the carved mouth and tell a lie, it will bite your hand off. Apparently, priests used to put scorpions in the mouth to perpetuate the myth, and Roman husbands used it to test their wives’ fidelity. The mouth lives in the portico of the Chiesa di Santa Maria in Cosmedin, one of Rome’s most beautiful medieval churches. Originally built in the 8th century, the church was given a major revamp in the 12th century, when the seven-storey bell tower and portico were added and the floor was decorated with Cosmati inlaid marble.