🏛️LandmarkClosed · Opens 9:30 AMFree

Basilica di Santa Maria in Cosmedin

Name: Basilica di Santa Maria in Cosmedin
Rating: 4.5

4.5 ·

Step past the crowds snapping photos at the Mouth of Truth and into the Basilica di Santa Maria in Cosmedin itself. Explore over a thousand years of history through intricate Cosmatesque marble floors, a Romanesque bell tower, and a calm, uncrowded medieval interior.

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Reasons to go

The portico holds the Bocca della Verità (Mouth of Truth), the ancient marble mask made famous by the 'Roman Holiday' legend that it bites liars' hands
The church preserves one of Rome's best-preserved Cosmatesque marble floors, a medieval inlaid stone technique
Its Romanesque bell tower and largely unadorned medieval interior contrast with the Baroque style common in central Rome's churches

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Full description

While most visitors stop only at the portico to photograph the Bocca della Verità set into its wall, the church itself dates back over a thousand years and preserves some of Rome's finest Cosmatesque marble flooring and an elegant Romanesque bell tower. Its relatively unadorned, early-medieval character stands in contrast to the heavily Baroque churches found elsewhere in the city center.

Because so many visitors leave after the keyhole-mask photo, the interior stays noticeably calmer even during busy hours outside. It's worth the extra few minutes for anyone who's already made the stop for the Mouth of Truth.

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Address

Piazza della Bocca della Verità, 18, 00186 Roma RM, Italy · Ripa

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Hours

🎫

Booking

Walk-in

Duration

30 min

Best time

morning, lunchtime, afternoon or early evening

Intensity

Easy pace

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Good to know

Step inside after photographing the Mouth of Truth in the portico, since most visitors skip this part
look down at the Cosmatesque marble floor, one of the best-preserved examples in Rome
it's free, so there's no reason not to combine both stops.

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Reviews

I was fortunate enough to attend mass at this church on Sunday April 26, 2026. Beautiful service. Catholic Mass in a Greek fashion. I had never experienced mad like this before. Easy to follow since it's the same basic motions as all Catholic Mass. The church itself is also a museum that holds the relics of st…

Analisa Harvey

5/5

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