Our Roman Holiday

Bocca della Verita was made famous in the 1953 film Roman Holiday

When we arrived back in Rome after our cruise, we visited some of the same spots I had seen before -- the Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Piazza de Popolo and the Spanish Steps.

But we also got to revisit a nostalgic place -- Bocca della Verita, or the Mouth of Truth. It was made famous in the 1953 film Roman Holiday starring Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck.

Hepburn plays a crown princess on a state visit to Rome, but she is tired of the tight schedule and escapes on her own. She meets Peck, an expat reporter, who doesn't recognize her at first, but when he does, he tries to show her around.

Inside Santa Maria in Cosmedin Church, there are mosaics

One of the places he takes her to is Bocca della Verita. He tells her that the face is the sea god Oceanus and that he would know if you were telling the truth or not if you put your hand inside its mouth.

This giant round marble mask weighs around 1,300kg and is located in the portico of Santa Maria in Cosmedin Church. When we arrived in the late morning, there was already a line, but there was a giant tour group from Korea ahead of us.

Their tour guide seemed to have a lot to say about Bocca della Verita, but they got it -- when they finally got to take pictures, one middle-aged woman pretended she was trying to pull her arm out of the stone mask's mouth which was funny.

The church interior is understated

We had fun posing too, but not as dramatic. For my parents it was a warm, nostalgic moment to remember the movie perhaps how it inspired them to come to Italy.

After our quick picture with Bocca della Verita, we were directed to go inside the church which is seems austere compared to other churches we saw on the trip, but the mosaic floor was absolutely beautiful. The craftsmanship was something you could stare at for a long time and wonder how they did it centuries ago...