Italy: Piazza Bocca della Verità, Rome

Fountain of the Tritons

Temple of Hercules Victor

Temple of Portunus. November 2016

I set out to find the iconic "Mouth of Truth" in Rome - the famous relief in whose mouth people place their hands and, supposedly, it will bite them off if a lie is detected. I wanted to see it out of curiosity.

When I reached the square, however, I completely forgot about the "Mouth of Truth" and was swept away by two lovely temples and a fountain all located on a small square in front of the church where the famous "mouth" is located.

The square lies in the ancient area of the Forum Boarium, the cattle market of ancient Rome, just in front of the Tiber Island. It takes its name from the Bocca della Verità (Italian: Mouth of Truth), placed under the portico of the church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, built over the Ara Maxima of Hercules. Besides the church, dating back to the late Middle Ages, the square houses the Arcus Argentariorum, the Arch of Janus, the Temple of Hercules Victor and the Temple of Portunus, a deity related to the ancient river harbour. Piazza Bocca della Verità: the Temple of Hercules Victor and the Temple of Portunus. The fountain in front of the two temples, called Fountain of the Tritons, realised by Carlo Bizzaccheri under commission of Pope Clement XI, 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.

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Temple of Hercules: The temple is the earliest surviving mostly intact marble building in Rome and the only surviving one made of Greek marble. (Likely the "Mouth of Truth" was taken from this temple)

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Temple of Portunus: It was misidentified as the Temple of Fortuna Virilis (Latin for "Manly Luck") from the Renaissance and remains better known by this name. The temple is one of the best preserved of all Roman temples.

(Wikipedia)

Most of Rome's ancient sites and temples are in ruin (except the Pantheon). Although they are impressive, there is much "imagination" needed to picture them when they were complete. How wonderful then to find TWO of Rome's most complete temples (small, but beautiful) right in front of each other!

Who cares about some silly "mouth of truth" when there are two complete temples right across the street!? (with a fabulous fountain between them!)