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La Pigna

La Pigna is an ancient Roman fountain in the shape of a pine cone, now located in the Vatican Museums. It was made between the 1st and 3rd centuries CE, probably by Publius Cincius Slavius, whose signature appears at the base. The sculpture originally stood in Rome, was later found in medieval times, and eventually placed in the atrium of Old St. Peter’s Basilica. In 1608, it was installed in its current position in the northern part of the Courtyard of the Pine Cone, inside Il Nicchione. Although it no longer functions as a fountain, it remains one of the oldest surviving Roman fountains.

La Pigna sculpture resembling a giant green pine cone in front of a domed building
La Pigna, a weathered green pine-cone sculpture set before a domed architectural backdrop.
October 2008 © · CC0
La Pigna bronze pine cone sculpture on an ornate carved stone base, flanked by two peacock statues.
La Pigna in the Vatican Museums’ Cortile Belvedere, shown with its carved stone base and flanking peacock statues.
March 2009 © · CC BY-SA 3.0
La Pigna bronze pine cone sculpture on a carved pedestal with peacock statues in front of a curved building.
La Pigna, the bronze pine cone sculpture, stands on an ornate pedestal with peacock statues nearby.
© · CC BY 3.0
La Pigna pine cone sculpture on an ornate pedestal, flanked by two peacock statues in front of a curved orange building.
La Pigna sculpture with peacock statues set before a curved orange building.
© · CC BY 3.0
La Pigna pine cone sculpture on an ornate pedestal with peacock statues in front of a curved building facade.
La Pigna stands on an ornate pedestal, flanked by peacock statues in front of a grand curved facade.
© · CC BY-SA 4.0
La Pigna pine cone sculpture with two peacocks in the Vatican Museums courtyard
La Pigna stands in the Vatican Museums courtyard, with two peacocks beside the bronze pine cone sculpture.
October 2014 © · CC BY-SA 4.0
La Pigna, a large green pine cone sculpture on an ornate stone pedestal in front of a curved building.
La Pigna stands on an ornate pedestal in front of a curved building.
August 2006 © · CC BY-SA 4.0
La Pigna bronze pine cone sculpture with a peacock beside it in a courtyard
La Pigna, the bronze pine cone sculpture, stands beside a peacock in the Vatican courtyard.
January 2017 © · CC BY 2.0
La Pigna bronze pine cone sculpture with peacocks on an ornate stone balustrade, in front of a building partly covered by scaffolding.
La Pigna sculpture with peacock figures on an ornate balustrade, set before a building under renovation.
© · CC BY 3.0
La Pigna fountain in a courtyard before the facade of old Saint Peter\'s Basilica.
La Pigna stands in the courtyard before the facade of old Saint Peter\'s Basilica in this antique engraving.
1693 © · Public domain

Identification

TitleFontana della Pigna
TypeSculpture; former Roman fountain; fountain sculpture; large Roman sculpture; ancient bronze sculpture; colossal statue; colossal bronze sculpture; giant pine cone (giant strobilus of pine); fountain / sculpture; sculpture of a pine cone (fontana della pigna); fountain
NamesLa Pigna; La Pigne; La Piña (Pigna) del Vaticano; Il Pignone; the Pine Cone; simply "pinecone"; Pigna / Pignone; the Pigna

Historical context

DateBetween the 1st and 3rd century AD; 1st, 2nd, or 3rd century CE; Antiquity, Roman Antiquity; 3rd century
OriginAncient Roman origin

Creator

MakerPublius Cincius Savio; Publius Cincius Slavius
Evidence for makerSigned by a certain Publius Cincius Savio; a signature at the base of the sculpture; signed by Publius Cincius Savius; signed in the 3rd century AD (exact year not specified in the fragment)

Discovery and provenance

Literary referenceMentioned by Dante Alighieri in the Divine Comedy (Inferno XXXI, 59; Inferno, XXXI, 59); referred to in the Divine Comedy, Inferno, Canto XXXI, in the description of Nimrod; used by Dante to describe the size of the head of the giant Nimrod
Permanent relocation date1608
Relocation historyMoved to the old Saint Peter's Basilica (the Constantinian basilica), where it stood in the atrium; in 1608 it was finally placed at the center of the exedra of Bramante's courtyard; moved to its current location in 1608; placed at the center of the exedra of the Bramante Courtyard
Dante's sightingIt is not known whether Dante saw it during a supposed pilgrimage for the Jubilee of 1300; it is unknown whether Dante saw the Pinecone there during a hypothetical pilgrimage for the Jubilee of 1300; it is not certain whether Dante actually saw it himself
Original functionProbably part of a fountain, spouting water from the tips; probably part of a monumental fountain where water flowed from its tip; probably decorative at the Temple of Isis in the Campo Marzio (Campus Martius), where it was likely part of a fountain that sent water from the top
Later useUsed to decorate the center of the quadriportico of the ancient Basilica of St. Peter in the Vatican; moved to the courtyard of the Old St. Peter's Basilica (the Constantinian basilica), where it stood in the atrium; the center of the portico of the old Basilica of Saint Peter
Name originThe discovery gave its name to the district/rione of Pigna, still in use today
Probable original locationThe Campus Martius, near or on the site of the Baths of Agrippa, or the Pantheon, in the area of the later Basilica of Santa Maria sopra Minerva; probably decorated the nearby Temple of Isis in the Campus Martius; near the Pantheon next to the Temple of Isis; likely from the nearby Temple of Isis
Discovery locationNear the Baths of Agrippa; the Baths of Agrippa, Rome
DiscoveryFound in the Middle Ages; discovered in the Middle Ages near the Baths of Agrippa; discovery period: Middle Ages

Location and ownership

Peacocks provenanceProbably from the Mausoleum of Hadrian; the peacocks decorating the tomb of the Emperor Hadrian, now the Castel Sant'Angelo
Related historic monumentEmperor Hadrian's tomb, now the Castel Sant'Angelo
Original peacocks locationThe original peacocks are in the Braccio Nuovo; Museo Braccio Nuovo; Chiaramonti Museum
Associated place nameCortile della Pigna (Courtyard of the Pine Cone); the courtyard is now called the Cortile della Pigna; the Bramante Courtyard is now called the Courtyard of the Pinecone (Cortile della Pigna); the upper (northern) part took its name from the sculpture placed there in 1608; it gives its name to the Cortile della Pigna
NicchioneA large niche created by Pirro Ligorio through the reconstruction of an old exedra
Current functionDecorates a vast niche in the wall of the Vatican; it no longer serves its original function
Facingthe Cortile della Pigna
Current locationVatican City, in the Courtyard of the Pine Cone, within the Vatican Museums; Open air, in the Courtyard of the Pine Cone of the Belvedere, within the Vatican Museums complex, Rome; one of the courtyards of the Vatican; Cortile della Pigna, in the Vatican Museums complex; the upper part of the Cortile del Belvedere / Cortile della Pigna in the Vatican; Vatican City, Rome, Italy; Vatican Museums, in the northern part of the Courtyard of the Pinecone (Cortile della Pigna), in the Nicchione; placed at the top of a double-ramp staircase designed by Michelangelo, in front of the niche (nicchione); at the top of a double staircase designed by Michelangelo, in front of the niche

Physical characteristics

HeightNearly 4 metres; 4 m; Almost 4 meters; almost four meters high; just under 4 meters
Width2.5 meters
Shape / formPine cone; a large bronze pine cone

Materials

MaterialBronze; not specified in the fragment

Technique

Original finishGilded

Appearance

Replacement in RiminiReplaced a statue of Saint Paul damaged by Napoleon's army; replaced a 16th-century statue of St. Paul
Depicted objectPine cone of a stone pine; a pine cone
Function in RiminiCrowns the fountain
Condition in RiminiVery restored; heavily restored
Location in RiminiRimini; Rimini, Italy
Installation date in Rimini1807
BasePlaced on a 3rd-century CE capital; a capital with the inscription "Incoronazione di un atleta vittorioso"; the base is a work whose attribution is incomplete in the fragment; it came from the Baths of Nero
Top sculpture in Rimini fountainA pinecone sculpture; pine cone sculpture
Additional sculpture in the courtyardIn 1990, one of Arnaldo Pomodoro's Sfera con sfera sculptures was placed in the center of the Courtyard of the Pine Cone; it rotates when the wind blows
Lions date4th century BCE
Flanking lionsTwo ancient Egyptian basalt sculptures of reclining lions
StaircaseThe stairs leading to the pine cone were designed by Michelangelo; a double-ramp staircase designed by Michelangelo; the stairs leading to the pine cone were designed by Michelangelo
Surrounding settingSurrounded by an aedicula supported by eight porphyry columns and covered by a carved marble roof
Visible featuresBase with relief, inscription, and peacocks
Water featureWater originally emerged from a nozzle at the top and then flowed down the carved scales; once spouted water from the top; water spouts from the mascaron into a basin
Decorative elementsBronze peacocks on either side of the fountain; bronze peacocks on both sides of the fountain are copies of those that decorated the tomb of the Emperor Hadrian; modern copies of two bronze peacocks placed on both sides of the fountain; two bronze peacocks; decorative mascaron
Base decorationBas-relief showing the crowning of a victorious athlete with a wreath; "Coronation of a victorious athlete"

Iconography and meaning

InterpretationThe survival of virility beyond Attis's death and, by extension, human mortality; the survival of life in general after biological death
Mythological actSelf-castration under a tree, a pine or a fir
Mythological associationAttis; Cybele; Nana
Related Roman celebrationArbor intrat on 22 March
Symbolic meaningThe pine cone is said to have a pagan and symbolic meaning; the celebration involved bringing a tree into the Phrygianum, sanctuary of the Phrygian mother goddess; associated with Attis, consort of Cybele and a divinity of Phrygia; Attis is described as the androgynous son and lover of Nana, his mother; according to the mystery myth, Nana was impregnated by a fruit full of seeds; Attis practiced self-castration under a tree, a pine or a fir; the loss of virility is compensated by the flowering of new trees generated from the blood of Attis; with its seeds, the pine cone symbolizes the survival of virility beyond Attis's death and, by extension, human mortality; the tree celebrated in arbor intrat symbolizes the separation of Attis's virility from his body, while the pine cone symbolizes the survival of that virility and of life in general after biological death

History and restoration

Courtyard historyOriginally part of the Belvedere Courtyard designed in the early 16th century by Donato Bramante, linking the Apostolic Palace with Pope Innocent VIII's villa; originally part of the Cortile del Belvedere; construction of the Vatican Library divided the Cortile del Belvedere into two areas; a transverse wing of the Vatican Library built in 1585–1590 split the courtyard into two parts; after Bramante died, Pirro Ligorio finished the project; he added the wall and niche to close the courtyard; design of the courtyard: designed by Donato Bramante to connect the palace of Pope Innocent VIII with the Sistine Chapel; completion of the courtyard project
ConditionPreserved outdoors
Restoration contextVery restored; heavily restored

Significance

Historical significanceOne of the oldest surviving Roman fountains
Etymological significanceIts discovery gave the district/rione of Pigna its name, still in use today

Other

DescriptionA large statue that likely originally decorated the nearby Temple of Isis and was probably part of a monumental fountain.
Depicted in image captionsThe sculpture is shown in several views: from the Pine Cone Courtyard and the Il Nicchione niche (2005), the base with relief, inscription, and peacocks (2025), from the niche side (2013), from the fountain side (2011), and together with the Sphere within a Sphere sculpture and the Fontana della Pigna (2005).