The colossal bronze pine cone was cast in the 1st or 2nd century by Publius Cincius Salvius who left his name on the base. Prior to being moved to the Court of the Pigna the jumbo pine cone was situated in the Campus Martius, in the area that is still called "Pigna", where it served as a fountain, water gushing from holes in the scales of the cone. Possibly towards the end of the 8th century it was moved to the entrance hall of the medieval St. Peter's, in the center of the fountain covered by and ornate baldachin, identified in Renaissance drawings. Finally, in 1608, during the construction of the present basilica, the giant pine cone fountain was dismantled and placed where it is today.