page_title: Santa Maria in Cosmedin
section_title: Architecture
hierarchical_section_title: Santa Maria in Cosmedin / Architecture
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Rom, Bocca della Verità
context_page_description: The Basilica of Saint Mary in Cosmedin is a minor basilica church in Rome, Italy. It is located in the rione of Ripa.
context_section_description: In the portico of the church, on the north side, can be found La Bocca della Verità, an ancient sculpture thought to be a drain covering.  A legend states that, if a person places his hand inside the mouth ("bocca") and then swears falsely, the mouth will close and sever the hand.  There is no attested case of such an event taking place. 
  The church's bell tower is the tallest medieval belfry in Rome.
  The current interior of S. Maria in Cosmedin has a nave with two aisles: these are divided by four pilasters and eighteen ancient columns. Built into the side walls, some of the old columns of the Statio Annonae are visible. Other fragments of the ancient building can be seen in the crypt. Paintings from the 8th-12th centuries, in three layers, are preserved in the upper part of the nave and in the triumphal arch.  The church has a very fine Cosmatesque pavement. The schola cantorum is from the 13th century, while the main altar is a red granite piece from 1123. The Easter candelabrum is also from the 13th century.
  The sacristy houses a precious 8th-century mosaic fragment brought here from the Old St. Peter's Basilica. Of the 18th-century restoration, the Crucifix Chapel and the Baptistry can be seen today.
  In a side altar on the left of the church is kept the flower-crowned skull attributed to St Valentine.
caption: La Bocca della Verità
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