Pigna
Pigna is the Italian word for pine cone and may refer to:
Places
People
Pigna, Liguria
Pigna is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Imperia in the Italian region Liguria, located about 110 kilometres (68 mi) southwest of Genoa and about 30 kilometres (19 mi) west of Imperia, on the border with France. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 933 and an area of 53.7 square kilometres (20.7 sq mi).
The municipality of Pigna contains the frazione (subdivision) Buggio.
Pigna borders the following municipalities: Apricale, Castelvittorio, Isolabona, Rocchetta Nervina, Saorge (France), and Triora.
History
In the southernmost district of North West Italy, where the mountains meet the sea, in a region called Liguria, can be found the valley Nervia. The valley moves up from the sea roughly north. and as it rises, you go on a journey through history, taking in the many villages dotted along the river as it runs down to the shore, one of the most important of which, not least for its historical past and a wealth of artistic treasures, is Pigna, named for the coniferous forests that once surrounded the village in abundance.
Pigna (rione of Rome)
Pigna is the name of rione IX of Rome, located in Municipio I of the city. The name means "pine cone" in Italian, and the symbol for the rione is the colossal bronze pine cone, the Pigna.
History
The giant bronze pine cone (Pigna) once decorated a fountain in Ancient Rome next to a vast Temple of Isis. There water flowed copiously from the top of the pinecone.
The Pigna was moved first to the Old Basilica of Saint Peter, where Dante saw it and employed it in the Divina Commedia as a simile for the giant proportions of the face of Nimrod. In the 15th century 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's vast niche at the far end, flanked by a pair of Roman bronze peacocks brought from Hadrian's mausoleum, the Castel Sant'Angelo.
Sites and attractions
This rione is centrally located in the Campus Martius area of ancient Rome. It is roughly square-shaped, extending from the Pantheon on its northwest corner to the Piazza Venezia on the southeast. This relatively small area contains numerous churches and palazzi. Public libraries in Pigna include Rispoli.
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