Friday, June 23, 2006

In the Getty Villa

In January 2006, the Getty Villa in Malibu opened after a renovation that hat been going on since 1997. I had visited the Villa just before it shut down many years ago, and now there was an opportunity to see it again, after the much-hyped renovation.

The focus of this museum is on antique art. Statues, pottery, coins. There is currently an ongoing dispute with the Italian government about the property of these exhibits, as some were taken out of Italy illegally, and might be returned back. So I used the opportunity to see some of these exhibits while they were still on exhibit at the Villa.

The complex itself is modelled after an original Roman house in Pompei. Nice environment, skillful reconstruction. The mediteranean climate of the Los Angeles coast provides a realistic setting of this museum, with a view of the Pacific Ocean.

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