Every year tourists feed the Trevi Fountain in Rome with coins hoping that one day they will return to the 'Eternal City.' That little superstition is a great source of income for the Roman city fetching about 600,000 euros a year.
is full of superstitions that have lasted the ages.
The 'Bocca della Verita' is another legend in the heart of Rome. Located in the portico of the church of the Santa Maria in Cosmedin the legend states that those who tell it a lie and place their hand in its mouth will have their hand returned missing fingers. The carving took place in the Middle Ages but it's 'power' decreased over time. A sword was then used to free liars of their fingers.
Nero still frightens some of Rome's residents centuries after his death in the first century. It is said that a walnut tree beside his burial site had his spirit inhabiting it. Ravens in the tree are considered to be demons torturing the cruel emperor's soul. In 1099 Pope Pachal II has a church built on the site hoping to free his spirit the walnut tree was fallen. The church Santa Maria del Popolo stands there still.
Superstitions in Rome are as old as the city's origin. A myth that twin brothers Romulus and Remus driven into the wild and raised by a she-wolf have lingered were the founders of the Roman Empire's capitol. In
August 2007 it is thought that the area where the twins were tended by the wolf was discovered.
The Trevi Fountain that brings the city money has one more legend. If you throw two coins in you will fall in love with a Roman, three coins mean a marriage is coming.
Perhaps that legend is why locals still toss a few coins in every once in a while.
Roman Superstitions Linger For Tourists to Explore
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