Getty Villa

Museums are by far my most favorite type of learning experience. Who wouldn't love to learn about something thousands of years old with it standing right in front of you? Pictures in books simply do not compare. It's extraordinary to think that the little object surrounded by glass right before your eyes was made in 100 B.C... I really can't wrap my head around it and I find it fascinating.

I'm taking an Art History class this summer to finish up my associates degree and one requirement for the course was to visit a museum.. The course explores the ancient world to European Gothic so I chose to visit The Getty Villa in Malibu for it's focus on Ancient Greece, Rome and the Etruscan cultures- the exact ones I will be studying throughout the course.

On Friday June 25th, my friend Chris and I hopped in my car and headed towards Malibu; a fancy little beach town about an hours drive from my house and less than twenty minutes from LA. It was an absolute gorgeous day and we made perfect timing for our twelve o'clock reservation. We drove up the museum's cobblestone drive which replicates the Roman roads made up of large irregular shaped stones. We parked and made the walk towards the museum by walking up 96 marble steps to a plateaued walkway looking over the museum and it's grounds.

The Getty Villa is a sight to behold. It is modeled after the Villa dei Papiri, a Roman country house buried by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in A.D. 79. The Getty Villa's architecture is based on this as well as many other elements found in ancient Roman houses and towns. Before even entering the museum, you are awed by its beautiful columns, intricate ceilings and glorious marble floors.


Once inside, you get a taste of the true Roman villa. The Atrium, herb garden, both inner and outer peristyles are breathtaking, let alone the precious artifacts housed within them.


The museum begins at the Atrium, the main public room in a Roman house. From here you can enter different rooms arranged by collections and themes.

The first room we entered was for the Gods and Goddesses.
In the center of the room, a goddess, perhaps Aphrodite, the goddess of erotic love and beauty, stood looking over the room. Although the statue is missing key female elements like hair, the drapery folding to the contours of the body definitely suggest a female figure of great beauty.


Another great artifact was in this room, The Marbury hall Zeus. This was one of my favorite statues; it commanded an audience and demanded respect. This statue is Roman and was made in Italy out of marble around 1-100 AD.

Other rooms were dedicated to Monster and Deities; The Temple of Herakles; Mythological Heroes; Stories of the Trojan War; and Dionysos and the Theater.

We made our way throughout the two levels and many rooms of the museum taking lots of pictures and enjoying the afternoon. I definitely recommend visiting The Getty Villa whenever you have the next chance to drive up to LA and have a great day.