We've only had two inches of rain so far this year in Southern California and as my luck has it, the one Saturday it did rain, I had tickets to the Getty Villa Museum. It was enjoyable none the less and I can't wait to go back when it's bright and sunny.
The Getty Villa is in Malibu, CA and it is a Romanesque Villa built to house the private art and antiquities collection of J. Paul Getty. It is built near his ranch house on a bluff overlooking the Pacific where he once lived. When I was first married, we lived in a condo right across the street. My mother loved telling everyone in Pennsylvania that her daughter lived next door to J. Paul Getty! In 1974 he opened the The Malibu Villa, which is modeled after the partially excavated Villa dei Papiri in Italy to the public. It was a personal project of his, and even though he never saw it to fruition (he lived in London till his death) he was instrumental in every detail. During the three years I lived there, I used to go across the street to visit every chance I got. It was hard to get tickets because of the parking, but since I just walked in, I could go anytime I pleased - I did have a connection though. It used to be my refuge from the world and it felt like I was a millions miles away from Los Angeles. In fact, that was the idea, he wanted to you to experience what it was like to occupy a Mediterranean villa in ancient Rome.
In 1997, after the opening of the Getty Center in Brentwood, they closed the Villa for renovations which took nine years. I was there the last week before it closed and it felt like I was losing a good friend.
It has been re-opened since January 2006, but I wasn't able to go the few times I had an opportunity. Tickets are almost impossible to get and I can no longer just walk there. Anyway, I was able to go in January through a friend who is a docent and I was quite pleased with the changes. The Villa and gardens are familiar but the rest of the canyon has been built up from bottom to top, covering the steep hillside with a strata of wood-grained concrete and stone which resembles an archaeological dig. There is a new parking structure, Entry Pavilion, Outdoor Theater, Auditorium, expanded Café and Museum Store. The renovated museum has 48,000 square feet of gallery space displaying 1,200 artifacts — not to mention four gardens with more than 300 flowering plants. There is marble everywhere!
A pleasant indoor-outdoor cafe serves -- what else -- Mediterranean-style pastas, pizzas and panini, featuring organic ingredients. I had a combination plate and even though it was good for museum food, it was overpriced. In keeping with the the Italian theme, they even have an espresso cart.
Even though there is much controversy going on as to what is real and what is fake, what was looted and who violated the ethics guidelines, it is a art lover's delight.
The
Getty Villa is uniquely suited to the clement climate of Southern
California and the abundant herb garden proves it. I was so tempted to pick some herbs, but I knew I would probably end up in jail. This may be the only museum in the world where you need
sunglasses and sunscreen. Visitors float between indoor galleries and outdoor
balconies, peristyles and courtyards. I can't wait to see a play there. If you are in the area, I highly recommend it.
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