The Aventine Keyhole

 The Aventine Keyhole

On Aventine Hill, one of the seven hills of ancient Rome, there is a unique site that I've never heard of anywhere else in the world.  If you look through an unassuming keyhole in an aged green door, you can see three countries.  It's on the property of the Priory of the Knights of Malta.  So as you look through the keyhole, the first country you see is Malta, the surrounding area is the country of Italy, and beyond that you can see Saint Peter's Basilica -- the Vatican, the smallest country in the world.  

The Aventine Keyhole

I have always driven to the Aventine Keyhole, but you can take the Circo Massimo metro stop and walk from there to Aventine Hill.  It is about a ten minute walk.  The keyhole is located in Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta.  There is no charge to look through the keyhole.  There is a line that takes about ten minutes, even in pouring rain, as we encountered both times we visited.  The piazza dates back to 1765.

The line to look through the keyhole during our visit in 2024

The keyhole in the green door

My mom looking through the keyhole in 2024

Our visit in 2018, my husband looking through the keyhole

The green door and keyhole on a sunny day in 2018 when we first visited the keyhole

2018

Unfortunately, this is what my iphone picked up through the keyhole in 2024.  You can find professional photos online of the view through the keyhole, but I've never been able to capture one.

   

This is what my camera captured in 2018

2018

While visiting the keyhole, be sure to visit the Basilica di Santa Sabina all'Aventino and the surrounding Savello Park and orange garden.  Enjoy the spectacular view of Rome and Vatican City from the terrace at Savello Park.

Basilica di Santa Sabina all'Aventino, our visit in 2018

view from Aventine Hill

Rainy day view of Rome from Savello Park on Aventine Hill

The Tiber River down below

A unique bench in the orange garden at Savello Park

The orange tree garden at Savello Park

It was a rainy day on our visit in 2018 also

2018, view of Rome from Savello Park

The Orange Tree Garden in 2018

This website has a good photo of the view through the keyhole

The Mouth of Truth

 The Mouth of Truth

The Mouth of Truth, or Bocca della Verita

Inside the Santa Maria in Cosmedin Church in Rome, you'll find the 2000 year old marble statue known as the "Mouth of Truth."  According to legend, if you put your hand inside the mouth of the Bocca della Verita and tell a lie, it will bite your hand off.  Some say that in medieval times, this Ancient Truth Detector was used as part of trials for thieves, etc.  The accused criminal would be forced to answer questions while his hand was in the mouth, and it was felt that he was more likely to be truthful under those circumstances.  Unbeknownst to them, someone was behind the giant marble statue with a sharp sword, and if they felt he was lying, they cut his hand off.  As far as anyone knows, the Mouth of Truth has never really bitten off the hand of anyone, lying or not.

Bocca della Verita weighs 2800 lbs and is an ancient mask that was believed to have been a drain cover in medieval times in the Temple of Hercules Victor, which is across the street from where the Mouth of Truth currently resides.  The Temple of Hercules Victor has an oculus similar to the one in the Pantheon, and so would have needed a drain underneath it for when it rains in Rome.  The area also used to be a cattle market in ancient times, so some believe it was used as a drain for blood when cows were slaughtered.  It was moved out of the Temple in the 13th century and placed in its current spot in the portico of the Santa Maria in Cosmedin Church in the 17th century.  

Some believe it to be the face of the sea titan god Oceanus.  Historians can only make guesses, not much is really known about the ancient statue.  It was made famous by the movie "Roman Holiday" with Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn in 1953.  Here is the scene from the film featuring the Mouth of Truth:

Roman Holiday

In order to see the Mouth of Truth, you have to wait in line in the portico of the Santa Maria in Cosmedin Church.  The cost to enter is free, although there is a donation box next to the Mouth of Truth, and a volunteer taking photos or videos for the people who have waited in line to put their hand in the mouth.  The wait in line isn't very long, only about ten minutes.  

waiting in line for the Mouth of Truth

while waiting in line, you can do some light reading...

Luckily my mom didn't lose her hand in the Mouth of Truth

and neither did I!

although it looks like he's got my whole arm!

After visiting the Mouth of Truth and coming away with both hands in tact, hopefully, visit the basilica also.  The skull of St. Valentine is on display there.

This is supposed to be the skull of Saint Valentine.  Portions of his remains are claimed to be at multiple churches, including at the Cathedral in Savona, Italy, and at a cathedral in Poland.

There is a gift shop in the church where I purchased a mini Mouth of Truth to bring home.  Getting to the Mouth of Truth is easy - take the Circo Massimo metro stop and walk 10 minutes to the Santa Maria in Cosmedin.

This is what the Santa Maria in Cosmedin church looks like. The people you see out front were waiting in line to see the Mouth of Truth, behind that gate in the portico.

This church was built in the 6th century

This fountain outside the church is called "Fountain of the Tritons" and was built in 1715

The Temple of Hercules Victor, where it's believed the Mouth of Truth originally laid.  This is across the street from the Mouth of Truth now.

The Temple of Hercules Victor is believed to be dated back to the 2nd century B.C. and is the only surviving sacred structure in ancient Rome that was made of Greek marble.  

The Tempio di Ercole Vincitore (Temple of Portunus) is next to the Temple of Hercules.  It was built in the 3rd or 4th century B.C.  You can see the Santa Maria in Cosmedin Church in the background.

Both the Temple of Hercules and the Temple of Portunus are gated so you can't go inside them.  The Mouth of Truth is a Must-See when in Rome!

Civitavecchia

In 2024 we went on a Mediterranean cruise that began and ended in Civitavecchia, Italy.  Civitavecchia is the port town of Rome, and is about one hour from Rome's city center.  You can take a train ride directly from the train station in Civitavecchia to Roma Termini.  Tickets cost about 5 euro.

Trainline

This is the least expensive way to travel from the port to the city and back.  We purchased tickets for both directions and didn't end up using either one of them, we ended up renting a car instead.  The car rental option is a lot more expensive, but gave us more flexibility.  And, since there was a train strike on the day we returned to Rome, and our train wasn't one of the guaranteed trains, we decided it was safer to just rent a car.  

Hertz 

The Hertz car rental station is right by the train station.  

You can easily walk from the train station to the cruise ship port in about 20 minutes.  You can also choose to take a taxi, but we walked.  

We didn't explore much of Civitavecchia because we were in a hurry to get on our cruise ship, but we did run into this gem on the way to the dock:

Unconditional Surrender, a statue based on a photograph taken in 1945 on V J Day (Victory over Japan Day) The man in the photograph was a sailor, and the woman was a dental hygienist.  The statue has been on display in a variety of places, including Sarasota, Florida; San Diego, California; Waikiki, Hawaii; Times Square, New York; Normandy, France; Hamilton, New Jersey; and other copies are in Royal Oak, Michigan; Key West, Florida; Bastogne, Belgium; Portsmouth, United Kingdom; Graham, North Carolina; Omaha, Nebraska; and this one in Civitavecchia

James and I caught this photo with the iconic statue in 2024, which is exactly like the photo we took in San Diego in 2023:

Unconditional Surrender in San Diego

This pathway leads to the cruise ship port and affords a spectacular view of the sea

This statue is called "Kissing in Memory of a Port" 
It was inaugurated on September 16, 2020 during the 150 years celebration of the Italian Port Authority
You can see Fort Michelangelo behind it

And there's our cruise ship behind us, just a short walk!