After leaving the Pine Cone Court, the tour heads inside the Museum. First stop is a balcony with a view over Rome, and another courtyard with various examples of sculpture.
A really wide angle view looking over Rome. The
larger
image contains an arrow pointing to the Victor Emmanuel II
Monument, which shows above the horizon about mid image.
The next courtyard in sequence is the
Octagonal Belvedere Courtyard.
(Although it seems to be only marginal octagonal; however
there is another Belvedere Courtyard, so the octagonal
distinguishes the two.)
A marble copy of the bronze 4th century BC
Apollo
that came to light at the end of the 14th century,
and was placed here by Julius II.
It shows the typical smooth lines of Greek sculpture.
The
Laocoon
showing Laocoon and his sons being strangled by
sea serpents, which may have been inspired by
one of the most famous tales from Virgil's
Aeneid.
This is an original work by three sculptors from the island
of Rhodes and dates to 100 BC. It was found in 1506
on the Esquiline Hill.
Pine Cone Court
Muses In The Round