Pigna is the 9th '' rione'' of Rome, 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, and the symbol of the ''rione'' is the colossal bronze pine cone, that stand above the '' Pigna''. The fountain, that was initially located in the Baths of Agrippa, now decorates a vast niche in the wall of the Vatican facing the ''Cortile della Pigna'', located in Vatican City.

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 saw it and employed it in the ''

Divina Commedia The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and ...

'' as a simile for the giant proportions of the face of Nimrod.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. M ...

it was moved to its current location, the upper end of Bramante's Cortile del Belvedere, which is now usually called in its honour the ''Cortile della Pigna'', linking the Vatican 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 Hadrian (; la, Caesar Trâiānus Hadriānus ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born in Italica (close to modern Santiponce in Spain), a Roman ''municipium'' founded by Italic settlers in Hispania B ...

's mausoleum, the

Castel Sant'Angelo The Mausoleum of Hadrian, usually known as Castel Sant'Angelo (; English: ''Castle of the Holy Angel''), is a towering cylindrical building in Parco Adriano, Rome, Italy. It was initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausol ...

. 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 (R. III), whose border is outlined by Piazza della Rotonda, Via del Seminario, Piazza di Sant'Ignazio and Via del Caravita. Eastward, it borders with Trevi (R. II), from which is separated by Via del Corso 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 (la ...

. To the south, Pigna it is separated from

Campitelli Campitelli is the 10th ''rioni of Rome, 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 Silvest ...

(R. X) by Piazza Venezia, Largo Enrico Berlinguer 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 (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, in Via del Collegio Romano. * Palazzo Altieri, in Piazza del Gesù. * Palazzo Besso, in Largo di Torre Argentina. * Palazzo De Carolis, in Via del Corso. * 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 St ...

(Santa Maria ad Martyres), in Piazza della Rotonda. * Church of the Gesù, 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, in Via Santo Stefano del Cacco. * Santa Chiara, in Piazza Santa Chiara. *

San Giovanni della Pigna San Giovanni della Pigna is a small Roman Catholic church located on Traversa Vicolo della Minerva in the rione Pigna of Rome, Italy. The church was made a cardinalate deaconry by Pope John Paul II in 1985. Description Initially a church dedi ...

, in Piazza della Pigna. * Santa Maria in Via Lata, in Via del Corso. * Santa Maria sopra Minerva, in Piazza della Minerva. * Santissime Stimmate di San Francesco, in Via dei Cestari. *

Oratory of San Francesco Saverio del Caravita The Oratory of San Francesco Saverio del Caravita (St. Francis Xavier “del Caravita”) is a 17th-century baroque oratory in Rome, near the Church of Sant’Ignazio in rione Pigna. It is home to the Caravita Community, an international Englis ...

, in Via del Caravita.

Squares

* Piazza della Minerva * Piazza della Rotonda * Largo di Torre Argentina *

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