The Mouth of Truth

The Bocca della Verita, the Mouth of Truth, is one of Rome's most beloved photo stops, and it comes with a story. It is a large marble disc, about 1.8 metres across, carved with the bearded face of a man, perhaps a river or sea god, with holes for eyes, nose and an open mouth. Scholars think it was probably an ancient drain cover, possibly connected to the Cloaca Maxima, Rome's great ancient sewer, which runs nearby. In the Middle Ages a legend grew up that the mouth would bite off the hand of anyone who told a lie with their hand inside it, and the tale was used, so the story goes, by suspicious husbands to test the fidelity of their wives. Since the seventeenth century it has stood in the portico of the church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, and its fame went global with the 1953 film Roman Holiday, in which Gregory Peck pretends to lose his hand and Audrey Hepburn shrieks. Today visitors queue to put their hand in the mouth for a photo, usually with a small donation or fee to the church. But do not stop there. Santa Maria in Cosmedin is a beautiful medieval church in its own right, built for the Greek community of early medieval Rome, with a tall Romanesque bell tower, a cosmatesque marble floor, a fine medieval marble choir, and, in its sacristy area, a fragment of eighth-century mosaic. Across the road, in the green Piazza della Bocca della Verita, stand two small temples from the Republic, the round Temple of Hercules Victor and the rectangular Temple of Portunus, among the best-preserved in the city, on the site of the ancient cattle market by the river.

Practical rhythm: the photo queue moves steadily, as each visitor gets only a moment with the mouth, but it can be long in the middle of the day in high season, so come early or late in the afternoon. According to Turismo Roma, opening times follow those of the basilica and may change, so check before you travel if you are coming especially. The portico can be visited without entering the church, but take ten minutes inside, which is peaceful and usually quiet, and dress as for any church if you go in.

Who it suits: families and first-time visitors will enjoy the ritual, and it is a perfect quick stop for children, who love the legend. Film fans can recreate the Roman Holiday scene. History buffs should spend time on the temples across the road and on the church, and think about what lies beneath: this was the ancient Forum Boarium, where the earliest Romans traded cattle by the river crossing, and the Cloaca Maxima still empties into the Tiber not far away.

Plan around it: the Mouth of Truth sits at the foot of the Aventine, so pair it with a climb up to the Orange Garden and the Knights of Malta keyhole, a few minutes away, or with the Circus Maximus. It is a short walk along the river to the Jewish Ghetto and the Theatre of Marcellus, and over the Ponte Palatino to Trastevere. Combine all of these for a lovely half day on foot, ending in Testaccio or Trastevere for dinner.