Bocca della verità - Roma, Italy
Posted by: 
denben
N 41° 53.292 E 012° 28.887
33T E 291047 N 4640430
The Mouth of Truth (Italian: Bocca della Verità) is a marble mask in Rome, Italy, which stands against the left wall of the portico of the Basilica di Santa Maria in Cosmedin, at the Piazza della Bocca della Verità, the site of the ancient Forum Boarium.
Waymark Code: WM112E7
Location: Lazio, Italy
Date Posted: 08/04/2019
Views: 5
The mask represents a bearded male face; eyes, nose and mouth are pierced and hollow. The face has been interpreted over time as a representation of various subjects: Jupiter Ammon, the god Oceanus, an oracle or a faun.
In the period of Ancient Rome, the Mouth of Truth was a manhole. The manholes, in Ancient Rome, often depicted the effigy of a river divinity that "swallows" rainwater.
What is certain is that the mask enjoys an ancient and legendary reputation : this is presumed to be the object mentioned in the 11th century in the first Mirabilia Urbis Romae (a medieval guide for pilgrims), where power is attributed to the Mouth to pronounce oracles. In it we say "Ad sanctam Mariam in Fontana, templum Fauni; quod simulacrum locutum est Iuliano et decepit eum" ("At the church of Santa Maria in Fontana is the temple of Faun ; this simulacrum spoke to Giuliano and deceived him").
A German text of the twelfth century tells a myth against the emperor who was considered a restorer of paganism, although he was only a follower and a proponent: he describes in detail how, from behind that mouth, the devil - described as Mercury (not by chance protector of the trades and even cheating) - held for a long time the hand of Giuliano (who had defrauded a woman and on that idol had to swear his good faith), promising him finally redemption from humiliation and great fortunes if he had revived the pagan divinities.
In the Middle Ages the legend that Virgil Grammatico, a scholar of the sixth century (namesake of the Mantuan poet), who had the reputation of practicing magic, built the Mouth of Truth, for the use of husbands and wives who had doubted the loyalty of the spouse.
In the fifteenth century Italian and German travelers remember, not entirely incredulous, this stone "which is called the headstone of truth, which in ancient times had the virtue of showing when a woman had done it to her husband".
The name "Bocca della verità" appeared in 1485 and the sculpture has since been constantly mentioned among Roman curiosities, being frequently reproduced in drawings and prints. From these we derive that it was originally placed outside the porch of the church; it was moved to the portico with restorations commissioned by Pope Urban VIII Barberini in 1631.
Source: Wikipedia (
visit link)