Fontana della Pigna
Ancient Roman fountain featuring a giant bronze pine cone.
The Fontana della Pigna, also known simply as the Pigna, is a former Roman fountain now set into a large niche in a Vatican wall facing the Cortile della Pigna in Vatican City, Rome. Its name means 'pinecone', referring to the large bronze pine cone that forms its centerpiece.
Quick Facts
- Location
- Rome
- Place type
- Fountain
Facts from the source article.
Did You Know?
- Another fountain called Fontana della Pigna exists in Rimini, Italy, also of Ancient Roman origin but heavily restored.
- The pine cone sculpture on the Rimini fountain was installed in 1807, replacing a 16th-century statue of St. Paul damaged by the Napoleonic army.
Description
The fountain is composed of a large bronze pine cone nearly four meters high that once spouted water from its top. Originally standing near the Pantheon next to the Temple of Isis, it was moved to the courtyard of Old St. Peter's Basilica during the Middle Ages, then relocated in 1608 to its current position. The courtyard where it now sits was originally part of the Cortile del Belvedere, designed by Donato Bramante to connect the palace of Pope Innocent VIII with the Sistine Chapel. Construction of the Vatican Library later divided the Cortile del Belvedere into two areas; the upper part, the Cortile della Pigna, takes its name from this fountain. The bronze peacocks flanking the fountain are copies of those that decorate the tomb of the Emperor Hadrian, now Castel Sant'Angelo; the original peacocks are housed in the Braccio Nuovo Museum.
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