La Bocca della Verità: sounds rather ominous, don’t you think? If you look at it, all stone, stern eyes and wide, gaping mouth, the sense of dread is even stronger. The famous classical times’ “lie detector” was probably, in origin, a rather grandiose manhole, decorating the streets of imperial Rome or, perhaps, the mouth of a fountain.

Others believe it was used to cover the holy well that once stood in front of a temple dedicated to Mercury, where Roman traders and businessmen would swear their honesty when selling and buying goods.