Bocca
della Veritá, Rome
La Bocca della Verità (in English, the Mouth of Truth)
is a renowned image, carved from Pavonazzetto marble, of a man-like
face and located in the portico of the church of Santa Maria in
Cosmedinin Rome, Italy. The sculpture is thought to be part of an
ancient Roman fountain, or perhaps a manhole cover, portraying one
of several possible pagan gods The most famous characteristic of
the Mouth, however, is its role as a lie detector. Starting from
the Middle Ages, it was believed that if one told a lie with his
hand in the mouth of the sculpture, it would be bitten off. The
piece was placed in the portico of the Santa Maria in Cosmedin in
the 17th century. The Mouth of Truth is most well known from its
appearance in the 1953 film Roman Holiday. The film also uses the
Mouth of Truth as a storytelling device since both Hepburn's and
Peck's characters are not initially truthful with each other. This
scene from Roman Holiday was parodied in the 2000 Japanese film
Sleeping Bride by Hideo Nakata, with the main characters reenacting
it with a replica of La Bocca. It was also replicated in the film
Only You staring Robert Downey Jr. and Marisa Tomei.
