The Cortile Della Pigna

The Belvedere of Pope innocent the eighth (1484-92) was begun in 1485 and completed roughly two years later. It was the first villa constructed in Rome since antiquity. At the turn of the 15th century it was a freestanding villa surrounded by gardens and vineyards detached from the Vatican itself. Twenty years after its completion a vast program of decoration began connecting the Belvedere with the Vatican through a courtyard. The Belvedere has two courtyards found at its North and South ends running vertically. The courtyards run a length of 300 yards by a width of 70 yards. Each serves a different purpose, but both are referred to as the Cortile del Belvedere. The Northernmost courtyard is referred to as the Cortile Della Pigna due to the 13-foot-high bronze pinecone that was found in its apse. The southernmost courtyard was used for entertainment and sporting affairs. James S. Ackerman, leading expert on the Cortile del Belvedere, likens it to a living organism, changing and evolving with its environment.
This was for safety due to strife between the papacy and monarchy in Rome. He was a Frenchman who thought it best to not move to Rome upon his being elected as Pope. The papacy resided there in Avignon many decades, during which any new constructions or reconstructions to the Vatican was nonexistent. This stumped the influence of the Gothic period's influence on the Vatican. After several Popes living in Avignon, the Papacy was once restored in Rome. It's restoration occurred at the start of the Renaissance, thus renewing an aesthetic for ancient architecture which deeply influenced the Vatican (Ackerman 3). This is found within the architecture of the Cortile del