The Getty Villa

J. Paul Getty built a Roman Villa in Malibu, California based on the Villa dei Papiri, a Roman country house that was buried by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in A.D. 79.

The Outer Peristyle

A large pool framed by symmetrical landscaping is the focal point of the Outer Peristyle.  By the pool and throughout the garden are copies of bronze statues and busts which were cast after those found in the Villa dei Papiri. These statues depict athletes, statesmen, philosophers, mythological figures, and animals.

The walls of the porticos are decorated with paintings in the Second Pompeian style, which was fashionable in the first century B.C.  

The colors used in the paintings on the walls of the portico match actual ancient paint specimens.

On a wall of the Outer Peristyle a painted fruit-and-flower swag is suspended between two illusionistic Corinthian columns.  On the left and right of the two columns the painting creates the illusion of walls of green ashlar blocks separated by red cement.

The small round structure (tholos) depicted on this wall of the portico is based on a similar wall painting from the House of the Labryinth at Pompeii.

Like any opulent Roman home, the Villa is adorned with gardens and fountains. The East Garden contains a replica of a fountain from Pompeii, decorated with mosaics of stone and glass tesserae and seashells.

It also has two marble theatrical masks. The masks are of Herakles (the Roman Hercules), and his cousin Dionysos, the patron god of theater.

Now let's go inside the Villa.

The Villa has a Basilica.  In the first century A.D., the Roman architectural historian Vitruvius used the word "basilica" to describe a very large room that would usually have been a public hall, but that was occasionally constructed as part of a private house.  Such rooms may have been used as meeting halls or private shrines.  Eight white marble columns divide the Basilica into a wide nave with two extremely narrow side aisles.  This basic plan was adopted by early Christians for their churches.

The Villa's Basilica has many statues...these are just a few of my favorites.

The Temple of Herakles

A room like this would never have existed in a private Roman home. This room at the Villa was designed just for the Museum to house the Lansdowne Herakles. This life-size statue was found near Hadrian's Villa at Tivoli.
 
 

Mosaics

 
 

 
The Romans made mosaics from tesserae, tiny cubes of stone or occasionally other materials, set into a bed of mortar. They used mosaics to cover the floors in wealthy private homes and public buildings.
 
 

 
 
Mosaic floors crafted in only black and white were favored in Italy in the 100s A.D.
 
 

 
A bust of the gorgon Medusa is the center of this Roman mosaic floor. This spinning shield motif with the gorgon's head as its central point appears frequently on Roman mosaic floors.
 
 

Room of Colored Marbles

 

 

By the first century A.D., wealthy Romans were using an array of colored marbles to cover floors and walls and to line fountains and pools. Usually imported from distant lands, different stones not only served as decoration, they also demonstrated the power of Rome and the extent of its conquests and illustrated the wealth and power of the owners of elite homes. Marble was used either in large slabs or in small pieces that were combined to create intricate geometric patterns of different colors and shapes.

Frescos

 

Wall, Ceiling and Floor Decorations

Ceiling decoration in Outer Peristyle

Wall decoration



These mosaic floor patterns from a house in Pompeii were copied in the Villa's Outer Peristyle.

The Villa also contains many statues, jewelry, and other artifacts of Greek, Roman and Etruscan history.

Children (and children at heart), can decorate Greek vases.

They can also perform their own Greek tragedy!

The Getty Villa is a great place to visit to learn more about Roman Villas as well as Greek, Roman and Etruscan art. 

Barcelona, Spain

November 15, 2009

After breakfast, we headed off to Parc Guell, again. We took the metro to a different stop, and then found the bus stop. We waited for what seemed like forever, and many buses later, the right bus finally arrived!

Antoni Gaudi originally built this park to be a residence housing project. It failed. Now it's a public park.

At the front entrance are two "gingerbread" gate houses. One has a bookstore and the other is the Center for Interpretation of Parc Guell.

The grand stairway has a ceramic dragon fountain.

The "Hall of 100 Columns" was designed to be the produce market for the housing community.

At the top of the stairs is the terrace, with colorful benches that are ergonomically designed to fit your body. There is a great view of Barcelona from this terrace, including the Sagrada Familia.

Antoni Gaudi lived here for 20 years, until his father died. The house is now a museum.

After Parc Guell, we took the metro to the Picasso museum. While riding the metro, I caught a woman unzipping my mother's purse. I reached out to take her hand off of the zipper, and she walked away like nothing had happened.

The Picasso museum was fascinating. Pablo Picasso lived in Barcelona from the ages of 14 to 21. This museum has the best collection of his early works anywhere.

We then did a walking tour of the Barri Gotic. At Mont Taber there is a courtyard where you can see a surviving corner of the Temple Roma d'August.

Our last stop for the evening was at Granja La Pallaresa, a xocolateria just off of the Ramblas. We had churros con chocolate. Freshly fried churros, rolled in sugar served with a cup of pudding-thick hot chocolate. Yummy!

This was our last night in Barcelona and Europe.

What a whirlwind trip of the Mediterranean! I hope to return to many of these cities someday!

Barcelona, Spain

November 14, 2009

We arrived in Barcelona this morning. After disembarking, we took a taxi to our hotel, the Hotel Continental Barcelona on the Ramblas.

We had a balcony room overlooking the Ramblas. It was 105 euros per night. I chose this hotel because of its proximity to the metro, the Ramblas and for the all day fruit, vegetable, breads and beverage buffet. The beverages were Pepsi soft drinks, orange flavored drinks, milk, beer and wine.

After checking in, we were off to see Barcelona. We went to the metro station and tried to buy tickets from the automated machines. It wouldn't take our euro bill, credit card or debit card. We didn't see anyone in the ticket booth, so we went in search of an ATM. I thought that the reason it wouldn't take my 50 euro bill was because it was too large. I was able to get two 20 euro bills and tried those in the machine. Still no luck.

We decided to walk along the Ramblas and while doing so, we found a tourist information booth. We were able to buy 2 day transportation passes there. These worked on the metro, the funicular and the buses.

We took the metro to Passeig de Gracia. Locals nicknamed the block between Consell de Cent and Arago the "Block of Discord" because the buildings look like they are trying to outdo each other.


The most famous building is Antoni Gaudi's Casa Batllo. He based his design on the legend of St. Jordi (George) slaying the dragon. The roof is the dragon's back complete with scales, bones in the bottom windows (dragon's mouth), and the sword of St. George (the chimney).

Then we took the metro to Gaudi's Sagrada Familia (Holy Family Church). He started this church in 1883. The building is funded by private donations and entry fees.

After Sagrada Familia, we took the metro to a stop where we boarded a bus to go to Parc Guell. We started to worry that we were on the wrong bus after a long ride, so we got off and took the metro back to our hotel to get our bearings and to take a break.

After a short "siesta," we headed off on the metro to Montjuic and the Joan Miro museum. I am the art specialist at an elementary school and we studied his "People and Dog in the Sun" painting. I was very interested in seeing more of his art work.

We rented the audioguides to help us understand his artwork. We weren't allowed to take photographs inside the museum, but we could outside where there were several Miro sculptures. A very interesting artist! We ate lunch at the museum cafe.

After returning to our hotel, we walked the entire length of the Ramblas. It was Saturday evening and lots of activity. People dressed as statues and in costumes, dancing, and other acts to earn money from passersby.

We had an evening snack in our hotel. Then spent the rest of the evening sitting on our balcony and watching the entertainment and people on the Ramblas.

Rome, Italy

November 12, 2009

We arrived in Civitavecchia, Italy about 7:00am this morning. This is where the ship has to dock for Rome. The port has a shuttle bus that you have to take from your ship to the port entrance. From there, you turn right and walk about 10 minutes to the train station (on the opposite side of the street).

We ended up buying BIRG tickets for 9 euros. It was a 5 zone ticket, which allowed us to use it on the train to and from Rome, the Rome metro, as well as the buses.

By car, or tour bus, it takes about 1 1/2 hours to reach Rome from Civitavecchia. By train, about 1 hour, depending on how many stops it makes.

There is so much to see and do in Rome, and only one day, what do you do? Since I've never been to Rome before, I decided that my top three sights were: Vatican Museum & Sistine Chapel, St. Peter's Basilica and the Pantheon.

We purchased tickets for the Vatican museum online, which saved us from having to wait in line. You buy the tickets by date and time. Our time was 10:00am.

We took the train to Termini station and then transferred to the metro. Our guidebook said to get out at the Cipro stop. The metro map said to get out at the Ottaviano stop. We followed the guidebook.

There were signs pointing the way to the Vatican museum, but we got lost at some point. We eventually found the entrance.

The Vatican museum is huge. We decided to follow the signs to the Sistine chapel and see the art that was displayed along the way. We saw the Gallery of the Candelabra (classical sculpture), the Gallery of Tapestries, Gallery of Maps, the Raphael rooms, the Modern Religous Art collection, and then, the Sistine Chapel.

I couldn't believe that I was actually in the Sistine Chapel. We found a spot on the bench by the Last Judgment. The room was packed with lots of tourists. I read the information from the guidebook and looked at each painting. It was overwhelming.

When it was finally time to go, we headed towards the secret exit. We waited until a small group of people used it and we followed them. There was a long staircase and a security guard at the bottom in a glass booth. The other people started down the stairs and then stopped. We continued slowly down, wondering what was going to happen when we reached the guard. Just before we reached the bottom of the staircase, he got a phone call. The exit was to the left. Just as we reached the door to leave I heard a click. I thought, "Oh no, we're locked in! We're in trouble!" I reached my hand out to the door handle and tried it. It opened! The guard had unlocked the door for us!

This secret exit takes you directly into St. Peter's Basilica. We avoided a long walk back to the entrance of the Vatican Museum, another long walk to St. Peter's, and the long security check lines for the Basilica.


Another "wow" moment, standing inside St. Peter's Basilica. I've been inside several cathedrals throughout France and Italy, but none of them compare to this one! The dome itself is 430 feet from the floor of the cathedral to the top of the lantern. The baldacchino (bronze canopy) is about seven-stories tall.


Michelangelo's Pieta statue of Mary holding the dead body of Christ was an impressive sight as well. It was behind a shield of bulletproof glass.


We went outside the basilica to St. Peter's Square. We were tired from so much walking, so we sat in the shade of the colonnade and had a snack.

On the way to the Pantheon, we stopped at the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain.


The Pantheon was also a very impressive sight, outside and in!


After visiting the Pantheon, we walked to Piazza Navona. We saw Bernini's Fountain of the Four Rivers.

Then it was time for a gelato break. I had Nutella gelato, yummy! We then decided to take the metro to the Colosseum. We got lost along the way and ended up at Piazza del Popolo.

I thought, "I feel like I'm on an 'Angels and Demons' tour!" We finally found a metro station to go to the Colosseum.


I was surprised at the modern sculptures around the Colosseum. We didn't go inside the Colosseum because we were getting short on time. We could see the Roman Forum in the distance, and the Arch of Constantine.


At this point, I was really tired from the walking and sightseeing. It was also getting close to 4:00pm and we needed to be back on the ship by 7:30pm. We took the metro back to Termini train station, and then a train to Civitavecchia.

What a day! So much to see and so little time! I would like to return to Rome someday and hopefully spend more than one day there.

Naples/Pompeii, Italy

Nov. 11, 2009

We walked to the Circumvesuviana Train station to go to Pompeii. The stop for Pompeii is the Pompeii Scavi stop.

The tickets for Pompeii were 11 euros each.

Pompeii was founded in 600 BC and was a Roman trading center. At its peak, there were 20,000 citizens, more than 40 bakeries, 30 brothels, and 130 bars, hotels and restaurants.

On August 24, 79 AD, the city was covered under 30 feet of hot volcanic ash. Pompeii was discovered in the 1600s and excavations began in 1748.

The Forum (Foro) was Pompeii's commercial, religious, and political center. It is the most ruined part of Pompeii.

Forum

The Muleteer Plaster Cast

Crouched up, trying to protect his face with his hands. He was found next to the skeleton of his mule, under the portico of the Large Palaestra.

Muleteer

Via dell'Abbondanza fountain

Porta Nocera

Porta Nocera dates from the 4th century BC and stands at the beginning of the road leading to the city of the same name.

House of Trebius Valens

Fresco from Pompeii home

Fresco from Pompeii home

These were just a few of the places we saw. Pompeii is a huge place, and it's still being excavated. We spent about three hours there and still didn't see everything!

Sorrento

We then got back on the Circumvesuviana train and went to the end of the line, Sorrento. We spent about an hour there, just relaxing and enjoying the view of the Bay of Naples.

Bay of Naples and Mount Vesuvius

We wanted to get back to the ship before dark, so we took the Circumvesuviana train back to Naples. We got off at the wrong station, and were lost in the city for awhile. We had to return to the station and try again. After a few wrong turns, we finally made it back safely!