The octagonal courtyard was formerly called the Statuary Court and contained the first nucleus of the Papal Collections of Antiquities. Here Pope Julius II della Rovere (1503-1513) created an extraordinary group of ancient sculptures aimed at the revival of Rome; When Popes Clement XIV and Pius VI decided in the second half of the eighteenth century to transform the collection into a museum with an organic structure, the courtyard was included in the project of the new museum and became its fulcrum. Despite changes over the centuries, some of the sculptures on display have been found here since the first half of the 16th century.