Santa Maria in Cosmedin

Welcome to the Piazza della Bocca della Verità, a location where the layers of Rome’s history are stacked with incredible density. Before you stands the Basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, a stunning example of medieval…

Standing under the church's portico, you will likely see a long line of visitors waiting to put their hand in the Bocca della Verità, or the Mouth of Truth. This massive marble disk, weighing over 1,300 kilograms and measuring…

As you step inside, your eyes will immediately be drawn to the floor. This is a masterpiece of 'Cosmatesque' pavement, a style unique to Rome in the 12th and 13th centuries. …

In a side chapel on the left side of the nave, you will find one of the church's most popular, yet somber, attractions: the flower-crowned skull of Saint Valentine. This relic is housed in a small glass reliquary, with the…

Look up and around at the columns that separate the nave from the aisles. These are 'spolia'—ancient Roman columns taken from various older buildings and repurposed here in the 8th and 12th centuries. …

For a small donation, you can descend a flight of stairs into the crypt, which is perhaps the most historically significant part of the entire complex. This small, three-aisled space was created by Pope Adrian I in the 8th…

Before you leave the site, take a moment to look at the church from the outside, specifically its magnificent bell tower, or campanile. Built in the 12th century, it is one of the tallest and most elegant Romanesque towers in the…

As our tour of Santa Maria in Cosmedin concludes, we find ourselves back in the bustling life of modern Rome, yet the echoes of the past remain strong. This church is a survivor—it outlasted the fall of the Roman Empire, the sack…