Gardens of the Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades
The ancient Romans cherished their perfectly symmetrical gardens."If they didn't have gardens they painted them on the walls, and if they had gardens they painted them on the walls anyway," says Michael DeHart, a horticulturist who's been supervisor for grounds and gardens at the J. Paul Getty Trust for the last 20 years and co-author of "Gardens and Plants of the Getty Villa" with Patrick Bowe.
To get a sense of the extent of their adoration, all any one has to do is stroll the Getty Villa's colonnades (called peristyles) and series of linked gardens. They feature neatly manicured hedges, Mediterranean-climate plants, pools and classical bronze sculptures, some of which are cast from molds of the originals excavated at the Villa dei Papiri -- the first century A.D. country house after which the museum and its gardens were modeled.
The southern Italian villa thought to belong to Julius Caesar's father-in-law was buried in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79.
J. Paul Getty had a special interest in the art and culture of ancient Rome. The billionaire oil tycoon had visited Pompeii and Herculeaneum as well as the National Archaeological Museum in Naples as a teen.
Sixty years later, when he began planning a museum and gardens in Malibu to house his collection from ancient Greece, Rome and Etruria, he decided to base it on the excavated findings (handwritten scrolls, garden murals, magnificent fountains, carbonized plant materials) at Villa dei Papiri and other houses of the period. But Getty, who was living in England at the time of its construction, never lived to see its completion in 1974.
The museum was closed for renovation in 1997 and reopened in 2006.
Granted, Getty Villa's gardens are not exact replicas but re-created to look as authentic as possible.
"All the plant materials that you find here you would have found in the atypical country home back in the first century," says Anne Watson, supervisor of grounds department at the Getty Villa as she leads a tour through the main gardens, including the Outer Peristyle Garden.
This formal garden that would have been used for contemplation and art appreciation is framed by a roofed colonnade and features a 210-foot-long rectangular pool down the center. In Roman times, pools were used for swimming or raising fish for food. But here it's strictly for looks.
Getty Museum Malibu - News
Associated Press/the Italian Culture Ministry, HO 'The Aphrodite of Morgantina,' bought by the Getty Museum in 1988, was repatriated to Italy in March. Archaeological looting destroys this sort of contextual knowledge. Yet through much of the last
The billionaire oil tycoon had visited Pompeii and Herculeaneum as well as the National Archaeological Museum in Naples as a teen. Sixty years later, when he began planning a museum and gardens in Malibu to house his collection from ancient Greece,
JEFFREY BROWN: What's important to know about for people who don't know the Getty? RALPH FRAMMOLINO: The Getty is a young institution. It was sort of a boutique museum, put in J. Paul Getty's Villa in near Malibu. And J. Paul Getty at one point was an
"Some crewmembers have signed up for museum tours at the Getty Villa," said City Councilman Jefferson "Zuma Jay" Wagner, who operates a Malibu surf shop. "This is not your same old Navy." Planning for the sailors' salute began a year ago when Wagner
For the more culinary-minded, dinner at Savory or stargazing at Nobu are musts, and the culturally-inclined can expand their knowledge of Greek and Roman history at the Getty Villa. In your overnight bag? Think casual with a capital “C,” mixed with a
Day Long “Iliad” Reading at Getty Museum, Malibu | USA ...
The day-long reading of the “Iliad” with the active participation of the audience was attended by 160 people from 10:00 am to 7:00 pm. Among the participants there were distinguished scholars, artists and businessmen, students and representatives of many international communities of Los Angeles. The twenty-four rhapsodies were enriched by melodies coming from ancient Greek instruments played by the music ensemble “Lyravlos”.
The return of the Venus of Morgantina - After decades at J.Paul Getty Museum in Malibù the Goddess returns home: 
Corpvs Vasorvm Antiqvorvm: The J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu : Etruscan Painted Pottery : Fascicule 9 : Book and... 
The Getty Museum is a gorgeous spot, beautiful! Malibu Beach not so shabby either...
Today: the Getty Museum, then Malibu, methinks. Not a cloud in the sky, sun and temperature rising in unison. 
Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum/Book and Plates (The J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu, Fascicule 5): Getty Museum Malibu - Bookshelf
The J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu, Etruscan painted pottery
This volume documents the Etruscan black-figure vases and fragments in the Getty Museum antiquities collection.Studia varia from the J. Paul Getty Museum
19; CC Vermeule, Greek and Roman Sculpture in America (Malibu, 198 1), p. 132, no. 101; Frel 1984, p. 81, no. 23; Handbook, The J. Paul Getty Museum (Malibu ...Corpvs vasorvm antiqvorvm, Molly and Walter Bareiss collection
... Geneva, 1986 Selected Works from the Ancient Art Collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu, California, exh. cat., Hetzel Union Gallery, ...Greek vases in the J. Paul Getty Museum
Un gruppo di frammenti della collezione di antichità del J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu, offre lo spunto per una serie di riflessioni sul significato, ...The Getty Villa
THE MALIBU PROPERTY The lush, secluded Canon de Sentimiento that houses the Getty Villa runs down to the Pacific coast just at the border between Los ...Day-to-day News Directory
The J. Paul Getty Museum
Details the museum's collections, visitor services, and history. Includes information about both the Getty Center in Los Angeles and the Getty Villa in Malibu.
Visit the Getty
The visit pages can help you plan every aspect of your visit to the Getty Center and the Getty Villa.
Getty Museum in Malibu
Hollywood Museums: a look at the Getty Museum of Greek & Roman antiquities in Malibu.
J. Paul Getty Museum: Information from Answers.com
J. Paul Getty Museum Museum established by Jean Paul Getty to house his large collection of artworks, to which he continued to add
Photographs of Getty Museum in Malibu for J. Paul Getty by ...
THE NEW GETTY MEUEUM PHOTOGRAPHS ...