Piazza Bocca della Verità (

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

: ''Square of the Mouth of Truth'') is a square between Via Luigi Petroselli and Via della Greca in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

(

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

), in the

rione A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the title of (). Formed a ...

Ripa. The square lies in the ancient area of the

Forum Boarium The Forum Boarium (, ) was the cattle market or '' forum venalium'' of ancient Rome. It was located on a level piece of land near the Tiber between the Capitoline, the Palatine and Aventine hills. As the site of the original docks of Rome () ...

, the cattle market of ancient Rome, just in front of the

Tiber Island The Tiber Island (, Latin: ''Insula Tiberina'') is the only river island in the part of the Tiber which runs through Rome. Tiber Island is located in the southern bend of the Tiber. The island is boat-shaped, approximately long and wide, and ha ...

. It takes its name from the

Bocca della Verità The Mouth of Truth ( ) is an ancient Roman 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 ...

(

: ''Mouth of Truth''), placed under the portico of the church of

Santa Maria in Cosmedin The Basilica of Saint Mary in Cosmedin (; Latin: Santa Maria ''de Schola Graeca'') is a minor basilica, minor basilican churches of Rome, church in Rome, Italy, dedicated to the Mary, mother of Jesus, Virgin Mary. It is located in the rione (neig ...

,"Piazza Bocca della Verità", Turismo Roma, Major Events, Sport, Tourism and Fashion Department
/ref> built over the Ara Maxima of Hercules. Besides the church, dating back to the

late Middle Ages The late Middle Ages or late medieval period was the Periodization, period of History of Europe, European history lasting from 1300 to 1500 AD. The late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period ( ...

, the square houses the Arcus Argentariorum, the Arch of Janus, the Temple of Hercules Victor and the

Temple of Portunus The Temple of Portunus () is an ancient Roman temple in Rome, Italy. It was built beside the Forum Boarium, the Roman cattle market associated with Hercules, which was adjacent to Rome's oldest river port () and the oldest stone bridge across the ...

, a deity related to the ancient river harbour. The fountain in front of the two temples, called Fountain of the Tritons, realised by Carlo Bizzaccheri under commission of

Pope Clement XI Pope Clement XI (; ; ; 23 July 1649 – 19 March 1721), born Giovanni Francesco Albani, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 November 1700 to his death in March 1721. Clement XI was a patron of the arts an ...

, was erected in the square in 1715; it has an octagonal basis and portrays two tritons supporting a shell from which the water springs. The square was the place where, until 1868, the sentences of death were executed.

References

Bibliography

* Rossella Motta, ''Conservazione, demolizione, ricostruzione di strutture medioevali lungo la via del Mare tra la piazza Montanara e piazza Bocca della Verità'' in ''Gli anni del Governatorato (1926-1944)'', Collection ''Quaderni dei monumenti'', Rome, Edizioni Kappa, 1995. . Bocca della Verita Rome R. XII Ripa {{Rome-stub