Bocca della Verità - wikipedia Bocca della Verità The Mouth of Truth. The Mouth of Truth ( Italian : Bocca della Verità ( ˈbokka della veriˈta ) ) is a marble mask in Rome, Italy, which stands against the left wall of the portico of the Santa Maria in Cosmedin church, at the Piazza della Bocca della Verità, the site of the ancient Forum Boarium ( the ancient cattle market ). It attracts visitors who audaciously stick their hand in the mouth. The massive marble mask weighs about 1300 kg and probably depicts the face of the sea god Oceanus. The eyes, nostrils and mouth are open. Historians are n't quite certain what the original purpose of the disc was. It was possibly used as a drain cover in the nearby Temple of Hercules Victor, which had an oculus -- a round open space in the middle of the roof, similar to that of the Pantheon. Hence, it could rain inside. It is also thought that cattle merchants used it to drain the blood of cattle sacrificed to the god Hercules. In the thirteenth century the disc was probably removed from the temple and placed against the wall of the Santa Maria in Cosmedin. In the seventeenth century it eventually moved to its current location inside the portico of the church. Contents 1 Cultural references and derivative works 2 Gallery 3 Notes 4 References 5 External links Cultural references and derivative works Scene from Roman Holiday with Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck The Mouth of Truth is now known mostly 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. In Het geheim van de afgebeten vingers by Dutch writer Rindert Kromhout, the fingers of lying children are cut off by a skeleton with a scythe who lives in the Capuchin Crypt in the Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini. There are a number of Bocca della Verità replicas and derivative works. A full - size reproduction sits in the Alta Vista Gardens in California and one of Jules Blanchard 's sculptures in the Luxembourg Garden in Paris depicts a woman with her hand in the sculpture 's mouth. Coin - operated fortune teller machines have been developed and installed in different parts of the world, including one on display in the Musee Mecanique. The Mouth of Truth has also been featured as a theme in historical European art. Lucas Cranach the Elder, a German painter during the Renaissance period, created two paintings depicting a woman placing her hand in the mouth of a statue of a lion while onlookers watched, a subject which was drawn by Albrecht Altdorfer and made into a woodcut by the Dutch printmaker Lucas van Leyden. Gallery Side view of Bocca della Verità. La Bocca della Verità, statue by Jules Blanchard, in the Luxembourg Garden, Paris. The empress and the Mouth, here shown as a statue of a lion, in a German plaquette of c. 1550. Bocca della Verità fortune teller machine at the Musée Mécanique in San Francisco. The Mouth of Truth by Lucas Cranach the Elder. An exact replication of the Mouth of Truth created by Bryan Morse resides inside the Mediterranean Garden at Alta Vista Gardens. Notes Jump up ^ Telkers, Anne ( 18 May 2001 ). `` De eerste beursdag in Turijn ''. Boekblad. Retrieved 25 March 2015. Jump up ^ `` BOCCA DELLA VERITA ' facts and history ''. Dpsusa.com. Retrieved 2012 - 12 - 20. Jump up ^ Nolte, Carl ( 27 February 2002 ). `` Old and in the way / The Musee Mecanique will soon be history ''. San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 19 November 2016. Jump up ^ `` Property From An Important European Private Collection - Lucas Cranach the Elder ''. sothebys.com. References Snyder, James. Northern Renaissance Art, 1985, Harry N. Abrams, ISBN 0136235964 External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bocca della Verità. Official website Landmarks of Rome Bridges Pons Cestius Pons Fabricius Ponte Milvio Ponte Sant'Angelo Ponte Sisto Basilicas and churches St. Peter 's Basilica Sistine Chapel Archbasilica of St. John Lateran Basilica of San Clemente al Laterano Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica of Santa Maria in Ara Coeli Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls Catacombs Church of the Gesù San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane Santa Croce in Gerusalemme Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri Santa Maria in Cosmedin Santa Maria in Trastevere Santa Prassede Santa Sabina Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza Santa Maria della Vittoria Santa Maria del Popolo San Pietro in Vincoli Architecture and art Villas Villa of Livia Villa of the Quintilii Villa of the sette bassi Temples Pantheon Temple of Castor and Pollux Temple of Hercules Victor Temple of Portunus Temple of Saturn Temple of Vesta Architecture Altare della Patria Ara Pacis Aurelian Walls Baths of Caracalla Castel Sant'Angelo Circus Maximus Colosseum Column of Marcus Aurelius Comitium Imperial fora Largo di Torre Argentina Mausoleum of Augustus Obelisks Palazzo Barberini Palazzo Farnese Piazza Navona Pyramid of Cestius Roman Forum Servian Wall Spanish Steps Theatre of Marcellus Theatre of Pompey Tiber Island Torre dei Capocci Torre delle Milizie Trajan 's Column Trajan 's Market Art Apollo Belvedere Augustus of Prima Porta La Bocca della Verità Laocoön and His Sons Ecstasy of Saint Teresa Sistine Chapel ceiling Fountains Fontana dell'Acqua Felice Fontana dell'Acqua Paola Trevi Fountain Seven Hills Aventine Caelian Capitoline Esquiline Palatine Quirinal Viminal Parks and gardens Villa Ada Villa Borghese gardens Villa Doria Pamphili Villa Medici Villa Torlonia Parco degli Acquedotti Piazzas and public spaces Campo de ' Fiori Piazza Colonna Piazza d'Aracoeli Piazza del Popolo Piazza della Minerva Piazza della Repubblica Piazza Farnese Piazza Navona Piazza di Spagna Piazza Venezia Streets Appian Way Clivus Capitolinus Via del Corso Via della Conciliazione Via dei Fori Imperiali Via Sacra Via Veneto Museums Vatican Museums Galleria Borghese Doria Pamphilj Gallery Museum of Roman Civilization Capitoline Museums National Roman Museum National Museum of Oriental Art Palaces Palazzo Farnese Palazzo Colonna Palazzo Chigi Palazzo Barberini Palazzo Riario Palazzo Pamphilj Quirinal Palace Metropolitan City of Rome Capital Castello Orsini - Odescalchi Hadrian 's Villa Villa Aldobrandini Villa d'Este Villa Farnese Events and traditions Festa della Repubblica Rome Quadriennale Rome Film Festival Related Vatican City St. Peter 's Square Coordinates : 41 ° 53 ′ 17 '' N 12 ° 28 ′ 54 '' E ﻿ / ﻿ 41.88806 ° N 12.48167 ° E ﻿ / 41.88806 ; 12.48167 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title= Bocca_della_Verità&oldid = 842914462 '' Categories : 1st - century Roman sculptures Tourist attractions in Rome Rome R. XII Ripa Truth Reliefs in Italy Hidden categories : Articles containing Italian - language text Coordinates on Wikidata Talk Contents About Wikipedia Azərbaycanca Български Català Deutsch Español Français 한국어 Հայերեն Hrvatski Italiano עברית Lumbaart Magyar Nederlands 日本 語 Polski Português Română Русский Slovenščina Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska Türkçe Українська 粵語 中文 18 more Edit links This page was last edited on 25 May 2018, at 14 : 57 ( UTC ). Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: what is the mouth of truth in rome
Answer: marble mask