Return To The Villa
The Getty Villa – Pacific Palisades, CA
Last Visit: July 2025
When the Palisades Fire broke out in January 2025, there were concerns for many of the area’s historical sights. Sadly, Will Rogers’ Western Ranch House was destroyed, but thankfully two other nearby sites, The Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine and the Getty Villa both survived. In July, Tracy and I visited the Getty Villa only one week after it reopened.
Situated atop a hill in Pacific Palisades with commanding views of the Pacific Ocean lies this seaside villa housing one of the greatest collections of antiquities in the United States. This would be our third visit in the past couple of decades. J. Paul Getty made his fortune as the founder of Getty Oil Company. With millions to spend, he become enamored of art and antiquity collecting. In 1938, while living in Rome, he began his quest of collecting classical antiquities (some going back to 6,500 BC), not to mention Old Master paintings and European decorative arts (you can check out that collection at the relatively nearby Getty Center, off the 405 … photo below).
At one point in his life, Fortune magazine named him the “richest living American.”
In 1954, the J. Paul Getty Museum opened in his ranch house in Malibu. Getty had previously bought the ranch just after the end of World War II. It was intended to be a weekend retreat where his fifth wife Theodora could ride horses and he could display his growing art collection. I guess you could say he had a growing wife collection as well.
Fast forward to the late 1960s, when Getty decided he wanted to construct a Roman-style villa on that 64-acre site in Malibu (now Pacific Palisades). Ground was broken in 1970 for the J. Paul Getty Museum, which would be modeled after Villa Dei Papiri, buried in 79 A.D. by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. The villa was “the largest and most luxuriously furnished seaside villa that had been found during the early excavations at Herculaneum in Italy in the 1700s.” It’s rumored to have been owned by the rich father-in-law of Julius Caesar. Et tu, J. Paul?
In a Los Angeles Times 1974 interview, Getty stated, “Go to Pompeii and Herculaneum and see Roman villas the way they are now … then go to Malibu and see the way they were in ancient times.”
Although the museum was completed in 1974, and the 82-year-old Getty didn’t die until two years later (in England), he never saw the completed villa while alive. In death, however, he became part of the landscape. Getty is buried here on a private plot that overlooks the ocean. His eldest and youngest sons, George and Timothy, are buried there, as well (gravesite not open to the public).
Since a reinstallation project about a decade ago that, according to its director, “aims to more fully capture the history of ancient art,” the rooms have been arranged chronologically. Visitors start their audio tour in galleries devoted to the Neolithic and Bronze Ages of Greek art, then move on to Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic periods, ending with ancient Roman sculptures.
To enter the Getty Villa you must obtain timed tickets in advance online (no showing up without tickets). The Villa tickets are free but you do have to pay for parking ($25 as of July 2025). On this trip, we had an 11 a.m. entry time.
Before we ventured inside to see all the artifacts, we ran into a docent who gave us some interesting tidbits on how the Villa survived the devastating fires. Similar to its sister museum, the Getty Center, the Getty Villa contains a 50,000-gallon water tank underneath it. In addition, the Villa was constructed of reinforced concrete and travertine, which are some of the best fire-proof materials around, and the roofs are tile. Drought and fire resistant plantings and brush clearance are yet another line of defense. Finally, as soon as the fire broke out, all the windows and doors were closed and the air pressure inside increased to ensure the building was hermetically sealed. He told us that because of these fire protections, the contents of the museum were never in danger He pointed to a nearby concrete retaining wall and said the fire burned up to there and all the rosemary bushes hanging over were burned.
From this vantage point we were able to see some of the scorched hillside near the villa.
Outside the main entrance lies an amphitheater modeled after ancient Roman and Greek theaters, where plays are performed occasionally.
It was time to enter. We were standing in the Atrium which was the main public room in a Roman house (such as Villa dei Papiri) about 2,000 years ago. The ceiling is open to “let in light and air and allowed rainwater to fall into the sunken impluvium (shallow rectangular pool), where it was channeled to an underground cistern.” The floor is laid out in a mosaic.
There are a number of bronze busts in the Atrium, and this one of a philosopher found in Villa del Papiri looked very similar to Tracy’s late step-father.
An Iberian Winged Lion from between 500 and 400 BC reminded us that J. Paul Getty kept a “menagerie with real lions and other animals” on his ranch in the 1950s. Getty loved animals, and he established a Wildlife Conservation Prize in 1974.
In Sculpted Portraits From Ancient Egypt we met Nakhthorheb from about 600 BC, and gazed at a colorful gravestone.
Ever since Tracy and I were once trapped in the Egyptian section of the Louvre, we’ve always been interested in sarcophagi.
From a workshop in western Asia Minor (that would be Türkiye today) was a 500 BC clay sarcophagus.
When you needed a drink about 2300 centuries ago, you could get it from a pitcher with painted animals or a Vessel in the Form of a Seashell.
Wealthy Romans back in the old days (really old days) enhanced the look of their plush villas with luxurious stone, and the Hall of Colored Marble was inspired by those buildings in Pompeii and Herculaneum. In this room is Crouching Venus, a 2nd century AD piece that Getty bought in the 1950s.
At the end of the “Basilica” where eight white marble columns divide the room is a second century Venus. This time she decided to stand.
Tiberius is the second of Rome’s emperors, who was rumored to have died when he was “poisoned by Caligula, starved, and smothered with a pillow.” Talk about overkill. Personally, I only know of him since that was Captain James T. Kirk’s middle name.
Said to be Getty’s “most prized possession,” the second century Lansdowne Hercules was one of the main reasons J. Paul Getty decided to model the museum after a Roman villa. The statue was “unearthed” in the 18th century in Tivoli, Italy, nearby the villa of Roman emperor Hadrian (we hope to visit Tivoli in 2026).
The floor is patterned after the floor at Villa dei Papiri, complete with a geometric pattern used by the Romans in ancient times.
To get to the next room (as usual here, I often didn’t know which room I was in), we walked through the Inner Peristyle, which has a reflecting pool complete with replica Chiurazzi Bronze statues of the ones at Villa dei Papri.
Back inside we learned how Jupiter used to pick up women. In Leda and the Swan, he disguises himself as a swan to “seduce Leda, a mortal queen of Sparta.” That union led to the birth of Helen, whose abduction eventually led to the Trojan War. Who can forget Helen’s immortal words, “We’ll always have Paris.”
Did I hear someone say, “None shall pass?”
We kind of liked these Mixing Vessels, this one with Hermes, Apollo, Artemis and Leto hanging out.
Nike, the Winged Goddess of Victory and Expensive Sneakers, is shown here in the form of an incense burner. When the person who created this piece asked how to sculpt it, he was told by his boss, “Just do it!”
Looking very similar to the bad guy in Dirty Harry, this Greek Satyr Mask from the second century BC caught my immediate attention.
Back outside we were in the peaceful and beautiful East Garden, highlighted by a vibrant mosaic fountain patterned after one found at the House of the Large Fountain in Pompeii.
Back inside we checked out the heads of Ptolemy IX and Alexander the Great, who I think bears a remarkable resemblance to Tony Dow of Leave it to Beaver fame. Hey Wally!
Sometime between 300 and 100 BC one of the Getty’s crown jewels was sculpted. The Getty Bronze (Victorious Youth) was discovered in the sea along the Adriatic coast after being snagged in the nets of a fisherman. An Italian art dealer purchased it for (US) $5,600. Speaking of nets, that dealer also netted a princely sum when the Getty bought it for $4 million in 1977. It is one of only a handful of life-size Greek bronze statues to have survived all these centuries. According to the Getty website, “The origin of the statue is unknown, but either Olympia or the youth’s hometown is possible. Romans probably carried the statue off from its original location during the first century B.C. or A.D., when Roman collecting of Greek art was at its height. The ship carrying it may have foundered, preserving the statue for centuries in the sea.”
This gold Laurel Wreath looked very hardy for something made more than 2,000 years ago.
The 1st century BC Greek Cauldron with a Satyr was one of Tracy’s favorites.
This vessel was used for mixing wine and water. Whether they could turn water into wine is another story.
It was now time to enter the Outer Peristyle. At Villa dei Papiri these gardens were “created to display wealth and cultivate taste.”
It features even more Chiurazzi Bronze replicas of statues that were excavated from the ancient villa.
I took a few more statue photos that day …
… including Mercury (the original is in a Naples museum).
This Bust of an Athlete is thought to be Hercules.
The most prominent part of the Outer Peristyle is the large reflecting pool with its two statues at either end. At the turn of the 1st century, the three-foot deep pool was used for swimming and fish farming, which, I assume, they did just for the halibut. The first statue in the pool is the “Sleeping Satyr,” or “Mai Tai Tom The Morning After A Party At San Diego State.”
At the far end of the pool the “Drunken Satyr with a Wineskin” points to the sky. A replica of the first-century one from Villa dei Papiri, a satyr points skyward, as drunken satyrs are wont to do since they are followers of the god of revelry, Bacchus. The satyr is half man and half goat (I kid you not). Photo on right is from 2019.
How did they get a bust of Spock’s father?
The view back to the villa was made even better by it being a picture-perfect day.
The murals, which recreate ancient Roman frescoes of the Outer Peristyle decorate the colonnaded hallway that frame the gardens and pool, and replicate the experience one would have at a lavish Roman villa.
Obviously the fire, along with other natural weather effects, sometimes take its toll. Fortunately none of these were destroyed by the fire, but some restoration work was still being undertaken during our visit.
We took a brief walk out to the Herb Garden. Back in ancient Roman days, these plants were utilized not only for food, but also for their medicinal aspects.
On our 2019 visit, we paid a visit to to see the whimsical waterspout of Silenus, companion of the wine god Dionysus (aka Bacchus). It’s a reproduction of the one found inside the Atrium at the Villa dei Papiri.
Tracy also took a photo that day of a koi pond. Even back in the ancient days of the iPhone 8, her photo turned out to look like a painting.
Up to the second floor we climbed, which concentrates primarily on the Romans. I heard Tracy say, “Hey, check out this wild ass.” I thought one of the Kardashians might be visiting, but instead she pointed to the Mosaic with a Lion Attacking an Onager (aka “wild ass”).
An ancient boxing match from Virgil’s Aenid between Dares and Entellus is depicted in this mosaic. We looked at it for three minutes, a bell rang and we moved on.
We checked out some ancient Greek and Roman Glass.
Lots of Roman sculptures were in this room.
The Funerary Relief of Helena’s inscription is translated as, “To Helena, foster daughter, incomparable and praiseworthy soul.” The dog is thought to be her favorite pet.
This ancient sculpture put me in a Steve Miller frame of mind.
The docent who answered questions in this room quipped that this is the first “ancient television set.”
Bear with me, we are coming near the end.
Like this elephant …
… we remembered many of the pieces from our last visit. Emperor Commodus, son of Marcus Aurelius, got his comeuppance for being a cruel dude. Not only did he get busted, but to make matters worse, he was also assassinated.
If you have to die, there might as well be wine, like this 4th-century Sarcophagus with a Wine-Making Scene. It seems to get better with age.
Last time we were here we fell head over heels (especially heels) with the Sarcophagus with the Life of Achilles. The lid depicts a couple who represent dead people, while scenes below show three episodes from the life of Achilles.
Well, old, brutal emperor Caligula finally got his, and here’s his head to prove it.
The Fragments of a Sarcophagus with Muses was part of a larger one.
An audioguide is available to download to your Smartphone, but the descriptions provided throughout are sufficient for many (like us), although I did like the audioguides they provided pre-Covid.
The 1 BC giant Jupiter still is quite impressive, and Medusa always makes me want to sing ELO’s Turn To Stone.
This 2,000 year old Hercules cameo has a cool backstory, which includes one of the Medicis and William Randolph Hearst. Just one of the many great stories you can learn about at the Getty Villa.
One of those stories revolves around this bronze statuette that, along with many other pieces, Adolph Hitler was going to feature at his intended Das Führermuseum. Allied forces had other ideas, and after Hitler bit the bullet, they sent the piece to the Munich Central Collecting Point, where it was returned to the Netherlands (its country of origin) who sold it to a private collector, who in turn sold it to the Getty in the late 1990s.
Nearing the end of our tour, we came upon a piece from the collection of William Fitzmaurice (the 1st Marquess of Lansdowne), a large 2nd-century relief featuring the mythical Greek seer Calchas viewing a snake devouring a bird and her eight chicks. Entertainment was hard to come by in those days.
Returning to the parking lot, we caught a glimpse of the beautiful Pacific.
Our day at one of Southern California’s treasures was complete. There’s no doubt that a visit to the Getty Villa will be tempered some by the devastation created by the Palisades Fire, which is impossible to miss on your drive to and from the museum.
The Getty Villa
17985 Pacific Coast Hwy.
Pacific Palisades, CA 90272
310.440.7300
Wednesday – Monday 10 am – 5 pm
Museum: Free (timed tickets – online only)
Parking: $25
https://www.getty.edu/visit/villa/
