Robin Alciatore’s Blog

I’m making my annual pilgrimage to the Getty Villa in Malibu, California. By way of background, Oil tycoon J. Paul Getty originally opened a gallery adjacent to his home in Malibu, finding that he quickly ran out of room, he decided to open a second museum on the property (his original home still sits at the back of the property). In 1974, J. Paul Getty opened the Getty Villa as his second museum in a re-creation of the Villa dei Papiri at Herculaneum, as well as incorporating details from several other ancient sites. In 1997 the main part of the museum moved to its current location in Brentwood to become the Getty Center and the Malibu museum, renamed the “Getty Villa”, was closed for renovation. Reopened on January 28, 2006, the Getty Villa now holds Greek and Roman sculptures once housed in the Getty Center. The Greek, Roman and Etruscan antiquities are arranged by themes including Gods and Goddesses, Dionysos and the Theater and Stories of the Trojan War, housed within Roman-inspired architecture and surrounded by Roman-style gardens.The Villa dei Papiri was buried by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in A.D. 79, and much of it remains unexcavated. Thus, many of the Museum’s architectural and landscaping details draw on elements from other ancient Roman houses in the towns of Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabiae. Gardens are integral to the setting of the Getty Villa, as they were in the ancient Roman home. Open spaces around the site feature bronze sculptures, fountains, and lush plantings of trees, herbs, and flowers used by the Romans. I’ve always been fascinated by ancient history, particularly Rome, Pompeii and Herculaneum. I’m also an avid gardener, so its fun to stroll the gardens of 79 A.D. (before Mt. Vesuvius erupted, of course), if only for one glorious day. Too bad the Romans didn’t have pianos!