My daughter loves a good story, so well before our trip to Italy, I shared with her the tale, which began in the middle ages, of the Bocca della Verita or “Mouth of Truth.” I enthusiastically related how this large stone disc, which depicts the likeness of the God Oceanus , is able to detect an untruth.
As legend has it, I told Elisa, when a liar puts his hand into the Bocca’s mouth, it will be chopped off. I even told her about the movie, Roman Holiday, where Gregory Peck dares Audrey Hepburn, who has been lying to him, to put her hand into the mouth. Perhaps I should have also mentioned that absolutely nothing happens.
The Bocca della Verita is located in the portico of the Church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, Rome, and there is usually a short line to have one’s integrity tested by this great stone carving. For something so foreboding, I was surprised to learn – from a plaque inside the church – that the Bocca is a cover from the 1st century Cloaca Maxima or, in simpler terms, the Great Roman Sewer. So the Bocca is really just an ancient manhole cover.
From the time we arrived in Rome, Elisa spoke of the “Bocca” and asked when we were going to see it. I thought it was all good fun until the morning of our long-awaited visit when I caught Elisa in a small lie. In our talk following, she looked me straight in the eye and said, “I am so not going to put my hand in that mouth.” I laughed, and I thought she did too.
It was not clear to me how frightened my small daughter was by the Bocca’s legend until we were waiting in the queue to see it. She immediately stated, loudly and clearly, that she had no intention of putting her hand in the mouth. As we inched our way forward in line, she became more agitated and repeated firmly that really, there was nothing we could do to make her put her hand in that mouth. Finally, understanding my mistake in making this legend a little too real, I kneeled down to eye level with her and said something like, “Elisa, it is just a story. There is nothing true about it. No one has ever had his hand cut off and no one ever will. It’s not real. It’s all just for fun.”
By the time I finished destroying any mystery, excitement or intrigue of this ancient monument, it was our turn. Elisa marched up with Erik and boldly put her hand in the mouth. I followed, rather half-heartedly. As she exited the portico to the Church, she looked back at me and muttered, “It’s not even real.” Sometimes even the best intentions backfire.
NOTE: If you are visiting the Bocca, make sure you go inside the Church of Santa Maria, which has an 8th century crypt and some lovely 13th century mosaics, one of which can be found on the wall of the gift shop.