The Pinecone Courtyard at the Vatican

One of the first parts of the Vatican Museums to be seen at the beginning of your visit is the Pinecone Courtyard. It is a large open space of 300 square meters adjacent to the corridors and halls of the museum.

While walking through the long courtyard, you can admire various works of art, both ancient and modern.

Why is it called the Pinecone Courtyard?

Its name is due to the huge bronze cone in the courtyard. The work, four meters high and two and a half wide, dates back to the second century and represents immortality and rebirth.
It stands at the top of a double ramp staircase designed by Michelangelo.

The other important sculpture in the courtyard is the "Sphere Within Sphere” by Italian sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro. Also in bronze, it is circular and much more recent, having been made between 1979 and 1980 and donated to the Vatican Museums in 1990.

Pomodoro’s circular sphere has a mechanism inside that slowly rotates with the wind.