Basilica di Santa Maria in Cosmedin

An 8th-century church with the tallest medieval Romanesque bell tower in Rome and a beautiful Cosmatesque marble floor. Most visitors come for the famous Mouth of Truth (Bocca della Verità) in the portico — an ancient marble drain cover that, according to legend, bites off the hands of liars (immortalised by Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday). Beyond the photo-op, the church holds what is venerated as the skull of Saint Valentine, displayed in a glass reliquary on the left side, and a serene early Christian crypt that may incorporate a temple of Hercules. The Greek-rite Catholic community in Rome worships here.