What & where to eat in Rome: Bocca Della Verità

What and where to eat

The Mouth of Truth (Bocca della Verità) is very close to Circo Massimo.

There are two recommended places: the first one is a Gelateria, the Gelateria Ai Cerchi (Via dei Cerchi 61), one of the best gelato of this part of the city.

Secondly a restaurant, the Circus Roof Garden (Via Luigi Petroselli 47), a restaurant placed on the roof of the Hotel Fortyseven, the view from this restaurant and the suggestive atmosphere are really stunning.

At the very end of Via di San Teodoro there is a milestone in Organiic Rome. On Saturdays and Sundays same road hosts the Farmer’s market, come here to see products farm to table.

Did you now? This market is located in the old location for the Jewish fish market. Take a private food tour here.

A little bit of history

La Bocca Della Verità is an image, carved from pavonazzo marble, of a face, located in the portico of Santa Maria in Cosmedin in Rome.
The sculpture was probably part of a first-century ancient Roman fountain. Perhaps a manhole cover, portraying one of several possible pagan gods, probably Oceanus.

Most Romans believe that the ‘Bocca’ represents the ancient god of the river Tiber.
The most famous characteristic of the Mouth, however, is its role as a lie detector.

Starting from the Middle Ages, it was believed able to cut the hand of the lier when inserting it.

There was also a medieval legend, attributed to the Roman poet Virgil. It was about an adulterous empress. She managed to deceive her husband in a trial using the Mouth. Since 17th Century, the piece was placed in the portico of the Santa Maria in Cosmedin. This church is also home to the relics of Saint Valentine.

When to go

If you want to see the sculpture of the Bocca Della Verità, you have to come in the morning or in the afternoon, because the portico of the church is opened only from 9.30 am till 5.30 pm.

So if you come here in the evening or late afternoon, you won’t be able to see it, or to try to put your hand inside and tell a lie.

How to reach it

There are a lot of buses that arrive in this area: 83, 170, 63 and so on…but for sure the best way to arrive here is to walk! The entire area is amazing, so it’s just one of the best place to go for a walk. It’s nice to get lost and discover a new, different, unusual, beautiful, side of Rome.