A small part of this area used to be occupied by the Jewish Ghetto. Like most cities in Europe, Rome forced its Jews to live in a small, walled-in part of the city. They also had to wear distinctive clothing, could only perform certain jobs, and had to attend weekly mass (they didn't have to convert, but still had to suffer through the incomprehensible Latin mass). When the Papal States finally joined the Kingdom of Italy in 1871, one of the first changes was to abolish the ghetto. A classically styled synagogue (pictured) was built over the old ghetto, which remains as the main Jewish center in Rome, so the neighborhood still retains something of a Jewish flavor.



We also visited the very popular Santa Maria in Cosmedin, also pictured. The church was built in the eighth century and is quite pretty but in a city of a thousand churches doesn't really stand out. But it nonetheless features prominently on the tour bus circuit for one reason, the Bocca della Verita, the disk with the bearded man's face in the photo. Legend has it that if you put your hand in the man's mouth and tell a lie, it would be bitten off. Merchants used to come here to make oaths, confirm business dealings etc (or lose their hands). Tourists line up to shove their hand in the mouth, but I passed on the opportunity. My reluctance wasn't superstitious, but merely hygienic, 1,500 years worth of hands going into this mouth has to be incubating some pretty crazy stuff.