The Mouth of Truth is the ancient mask, probably an ancient manhole, with a diameter of 1.80 meters, walled into the wall of the pronaos of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, it has the appearance of a male face with a beard; eyes, nose and mouth are pierced to drain the water.
William Wyler's Roman Holiday film, with the unforgettable protagonists Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck, consecrated the Mouth of Truth to undisputed fame.
It was 1953 and since then it has entered the tourist imagination.
Its fame is linked to popular tradition, for the belief that the mouth could bite the hand of those who have not told the truth. The line of tourists who still want the photo with their hand in the mouth of the manhole certify the strength of the photographic image; those who are afraid, must have told some lies.