Overview

Inside the Vatican Museums you will find the Cortile della Pigna between the Sistine Salon, the Museo Chiaramonti, the Galleria dei Candelabri, the Museo Pio-Clementino and the Museo Gregoriano Egizio. The cortile is part of Bramante's Belvedere courtyard and was given the name because of the large bronze pinecone in front of the large niche. It was actually mentioned by Dante in The Divine Comedy. It dates from the Roman era and was found in Agrippa's Baths near Piazza Navona. It was probably created by the sculptor Salvius and may have been part of a fountain. It was later placed in the atrium of St Peter's with two bronze peacocks.