Another Great Place

Another great place. It turns out that the Getty mansion is actually another museum, but a very special one. Getty was fascinated with Roman architecture and decided to reproduce a Roman villa which was buried and subsequently excavated after the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius near Pompeii. The villa was owned by Piso, the father-in-law of Julius Cesar.

The idea was to show the lifestyle of the folks who lived at that time. A family would have about 100 servants taking care of them, cleaning, building, growing food, providing entertainment, etc.

Detail of ceiling in main room.

The objective of Roman architecture was to combine functionality with beauty, which the villa does very well. The living rooms in the villa square are filled with examples of Greek, Etruscan, and Roman art. Some rooms are devoted to statues of gods of the times, such as Herakles. (I think he left something at home when he posed for this - can you identify it?)

Family entertainment center.

The floor materials are made of eleven types of marble, carved and fitted like stained glass.

The walls of the main reflecting pond are hand painted Fresco-style.

Here is one of the local goddesses. A rare depiction of Mimi, goddess of beauty and the culinary arts.

All of the vegetation represents what was used in Roman times. The ponds contain papyrus, used to make their paper.

The west garden with pond and alcove.

Detail of alcove.

The main reflecting pool with a statue of a drunken satyr.

Some gold household dining implements.

The god Mercury taking a break.

Summary: Another winner! Every facet of this place was designed to convey a period of Roman life to the detail. Not just another museum to house artifacts.

Some details - admission is free but reservations are necessary. Arrive after 1:00 p.m. on a weekday to avoid hordes of school children.

Web site: http://www.getty.edu/museum/