Chiesa di Santa Maria in Cosmedin

Built in the 6th century on the ruins of the old Roman silage, it was expanded in the 8th century under the reign of Adrian, and then again in the 12th century. The marble floor is among the the most beautiful to have been made by the Cosmati school. Under the porch you'll see a large gargoyle known as the Bocca della Verità (Mouth of Truth). During the Roman era, this was no more than a sewage outlet. It owes its fame to a mediaeval legend that had it that the mouth cut off the hand of anyone who dared to tell a lie.