A close-up of the giant pine cone. The colossal bronze pine cone was cast in the 1st or 2nd century by Publius Cincius Salvius who left his name on the base. At one time it was it served as a fountain, where water gushed from holes in the scales of the pine. When I went, the cone was undergoing some upkeep renovation, so I couldnt take a picture. This pic, I got by searching on the net. Strange - its a bronze piece but looks rather bluish-white