Pigna is the 9th ''

rione A (; plural: ) is a neighbourhood in several Italian cities. A is a territorial subdivision. The larger administrative subdivisions in Rome are the , with the being used only in the historic centre. The word derives from the Latin , the 14 su ...

'' of

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, identified by the initials R. IX, and belongs to the

Municipio I Municipio I is an administrative subdivision of the municipality of Rome, encompassing the centre of the city. It was first created by Rome's city council on 19 January 2001 and has a president who is elected during the mayoral elections. On 11 ...

. The name means "pine cone" in

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

, and the symbol of the ''rione'' is the colossal bronze

pine cone A conifer cone (in formal botanical usage: strobilus, plural strobili) is a seed-bearing organ on gymnosperm plants. It is usually woody, ovoid to globular, including scales and bracts arranged around a central axis, especially in conifers an ...

, that stand above the '' Pigna''. The fountain, that was initially located in the

Baths of Agrippa The Baths of Agrippa (Latin: Thermae Agrippae) was a structure of ancient Rome, in what is now Italy, built by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa. It was the first of the great thermae constructed in the city, and also the first public bath. History In th ...

, now decorates a vast niche in the wall of the Vatican facing the ''Cortile della Pigna'', located in

Vatican City Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—' * german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ') * pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—' * pt, Cidade do Vati ...

History

In the Roman period, the giant bronze ''pigna'' that gives the name to the ''rione'' once decorated a fountain and the water flowed copiously from the top of the pine cone. The Pigna was moved first to the Old Basilica of Saint Peter, where

Dante Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian people, Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', origin ...

saw it and employed it in the '' Divina Commedia'' as a

simile A simile () is a figure of speech that directly ''compares'' two things. Similes differ from other metaphors by highlighting the similarities between two things using comparison words such as "like", "as", "so", or "than", while other metaphors c ...

for the giant proportions of the face of

Nimrod Nimrod (; ; arc, ܢܡܪܘܕ; ar, نُمْرُود, Numrūd) is a biblical figure mentioned in the Book of Genesis and Books of Chronicles. The son of Cush and therefore a great-grandson of Noah, Nimrod was described as a king in the land of ...

.Dante, ''Inferno'' xxxi. 58f In the

15th century The 15th century was the century which spans the Julian dates from 1 January 1401 ( MCDI) to 31 December 1500 ( MD). In Europe, the 15th century includes parts of the Late Middle Ages, the Early Renaissance, and the early modern period. ...

it was moved to its current location, the upper end of

Bramante Donato Bramante ( , , ; 1444 – 11 April 1514), born as Donato di Pascuccio d'Antonio and also known as Bramante Lazzari, was an Italian architect and painter. He introduced Renaissance architecture to Milan and the High Renaissance style ...

Cortile del Belvedere The (Belvedere Courtyard or Belvedere Court) was a major architectural work of the High Renaissance at the Vatican Palace in Rome. Designed by Donato Bramante from 1505 onward, its concept and details reverberated in courtyard design, formalized ...

, which is now usually called in its honour the ''Cortile della Pigna'', linking the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

and the Palazzo del Belvedere. There it stands today under

Pirro Ligorio Pirro Ligorio ( October 30, 1583) was an Italian architect, painter, antiquarian, and garden designer during the Renaissance period. He worked as the Vatican's Papal Architect under Popes Paul IV and Pius IV, designed the fountains at Villa d’ ...

's vast

niche Niche may refer to: Science *Developmental niche, a concept for understanding the cultural context of child development *Ecological niche, a term describing the relational position of an organism's species *Niche differentiation, in ecology, the ...

at the far end, flanked by a pair of Roman bronze peacocks brought from Hadrian's mausoleum, the Castel Sant'Angelo. Currently, a fountain with a travertine pine cone stands in front of San Marco Evangelista al Campidoglio: the fountain was commissioned by the Municipality to the architect Pietro Lombardi in order to reinstate the emblem of the ''rione''.

Geography

Boundaries

To the north, the ''rione'' borders with

Colonna The House of Colonna, also known as ''Sciarrillo'' or ''Sciarra'', is an Italian noble family, forming part of the papal nobility. It was powerful in medieval and Renaissance Rome, supplying one pope (Martin V) and many other church and politic ...

(R. III), whose border is outlined by

Piazza della Rotonda The Piazza della Rotonda is a piazza ( city square) in Rome, Italy, on the south side of which is located the Pantheon. The square gets its name from the Pantheon's informal title as the church of ''Santa Maria Rotonda''. History Although the ...

, Via del Seminario, Piazza di Sant'Ignazio and Via del Caravita. Eastward, it borders with

Trevi The area of freedom, security and justice (AFSJ) is a collection of justice as well as migration & home affairs policies designed to ensure security, rights and free movement within the European Union (EU). Fields covered include the harmonisati ...

(R. II), from which is separated by

Via del Corso The Via del Corso is a main street in the historical centre of Rome. It is straight in an area otherwise characterized by narrow meandering alleys and small piazzas. Considered a wide street in ancient times, the Corso is approximately 10 metres w ...

and

Piazza Venezia Piazza Venezia () is a central hub of Rome, Italy, in which several thoroughfares intersect, including the Via dei Fori Imperiali and the Via del Corso. It takes its name from the Palazzo Venezia, built by the Venetian Cardinal, Pietro Barbo (l ...

. To the south, Pigna it is separated from

Campitelli Campitelli is the 10th ''rione'' of Rome, identified by the initials R. X, and is located in the Municipio I. Its emblem consists of a black dragon's head on a white background. This symbol comes from the legend that Pope Silvester I threw ou ...

(R. X) by Piazza Venezia, Largo

Enrico Berlinguer Enrico Berlinguer (; 25 May 1922 – 11 June 1984) was an Italian politician, considered the most popular leader of the Italian Communist Party (PCI), which he led as the national secretary from 1972 until his death during a tense period in Ital ...

and Via di San Marco; it is separated from Sant'Angelo (R. XI) by Via delle Botteghe Oscure and Via Florida. Westward, the ''rione'' borders with

Sant'Eustachio Sant'Eustachio is a Roman Catholic titular church and minor basilica in Rome, named for the martyr Saint Eustace. It is located on Via di Sant'Eustachio in the rione Sant'Eustachio, a block west of the Pantheon and via della Rotonda, and a ...

(R. VIII), the border being marked by Via di Torre Argentina, Largo di Santa Chiara and Via della Rotonda.

Places of interest

Palaces and other buildings

Collegio Romano The Roman College ( la, Collegium Romanum, it, Collegio Romano) was a school established by St. Ignatius of Loyola in 1551, just 11 years after he founded the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). It quickly grew to include classes from elementary school t ...

, in Via del Collegio Romano. *

Palazzo Altieri Palazzo Altieri is a palace in Rome, which was the home of the Altieri family in the city. The palace faces the square in front of the Church of the Gesù. The Altieri The Altieri were one of the prominent families in Rome claiming descendancy ...

, in Piazza del Gesù. * Palazzo Besso, in

Largo di Torre Argentina Largo di Torre Argentina is a square in Rome, Italy, with four Roman Republican temples and the remains of Pompey's Theatre. It is in the ancient Campus Martius. The name of the square comes from the ''Torre Argentina'', which takes its name fro ...

. * Palazzo De Carolis, in

. * Palazzo Ginnasi, in Largo Santa Lucia Filippini. * Palazzo Grazioli, in Via del Plebiscito. * Palazzo Maffei Marescotti, in Via dei Cestari. * Palazzo San Macuto, in Piazza di San Macuto. *

Palazzo Venezia The Palazzo Venezia or Palazzo Barbo (), formerly Palace of St. Mark, is a palazzo (palace) in central Rome, Italy, just north of the Capitoline Hill. The original structure of this great architectural complex consisted of a modest medieval hous ...

, between

and Via del Plebiscito. * Palazzo Verospi Vitelleschi, in Via del Corso.

Churches

Pantheon Pantheon may refer to: * Pantheon (religion), a set of gods belonging to a particular religion or tradition, and a temple or sacred building Arts and entertainment Comics *Pantheon (Marvel Comics), a fictional organization * ''Pantheon'' (Lone S ...

(Santa Maria ad Martyres), in

. *

Church of the Gesù , image = Church of the Gesù, Rome.jpg , imagesize = , caption = Giacomo della Porta's façade, precursor of Baroque , mapframe = yes , mapframe-caption = Click on the map for a full ...

, in Piazza del Gesù. *

Sant'Ignazio di Loyola in Campo Marzio la, Ecclesia Sancti Ignatii a Loyola in Campo Martio , image = Sant'Ignazio Church, Rome.jpg , imagesize = 300px , caption = Façade of Sant'Ignazio , mapframe =yes , mapframe-caption ...

, in Via del Caravita. * San Marco Evangelista al Campidoglio, in

. *

Santo Stefano del Cacco Santo Stefano de Pinea or more commonly Santo Stefano del Cacco is a church in Rome dedicated to Saint Stephen, located at Via di Santo Stefano del Cacco 26. Name The name "del Cacco" may refer to the Roman deity Cacus, or more likely to a stat ...

, in Via Santo Stefano del Cacco. * Santa Chiara, in Piazza Santa Chiara. * San Giovanni della Pigna, in Piazza della Pigna. *

Santa Maria in Via Lata Santa Maria in Via Lata is a church on the Via del Corso (the ancient Via Lata), in Rome, Italy. It stands diagonal from the church of San Marcello al Corso. It is the Station days for Tuesday, the fifth week of lent. History The first Christi ...

, in

. * Santa Maria sopra Minerva, in

Piazza della Minerva Piazza della Minerva is a piazza in Rome, Italy, near the Pantheon. Its name derives from the existence of a temple built on the site by Pompey dedicated to Minerva Calcidica, whose statue is now in the Vatican Museums. Features Facing th ...

. *

Santissime Stimmate di San Francesco The Ss. Stimmate di San Francesco ("Church of the Holy Stigmata of St. Francis") is a church in central Rome, Italy, in the Rione Pigna, sited where previously there was a church called Ss. Quaranta Martiri de Calcarario. It is located on via dei ...

, in Via dei Cestari. * Oratory of San Francesco Saverio del Caravita, in Via del Caravita.

Squares

Notes

External links

History, images and maps of the rione
*
Map of the Rione
{{coord, 41, 54, N, 12, 29, E, region:IT_type:city, display=title Rioni of Rome