Los Angeles – Day 3 – Getty Villa Museum

J. Paul Getty created this museum to allow visitors to experience Greek and Roman art.  There are beautiful statues, bowls, jewelry, etc. created by the Greeks, Romans, Etruscans, and Egyptians.  

More fascinating to me was the design of the museum, which was modeled on a Roman vacation villa near Pompeii.  The eruption of Mt. Vesuvius preserved the remains perfectly, and the villa has been re-created just as it was 2000 years ago.  

The villa was used as a vacation resort by the wealthy to escape the summer heat of Rome, and what a vacation house it was!  There were beautifully tiled floors, open courtyards that allowed air to flow through the villa, and an ‘indoor’ pool deep enough for swimming.  Much better than having a tiny condo at the beach!

The Roman era has always fascinated me.  It was the best of times, with amazing architecture, aqueducts, and ingeniously designed bathhouses.  It was the first attempt at a representative style of government with the Roman senate.  Yet there were brutal rulers, backstabbing amongst the elite, and multiple assassinations of Emperors and Senators.   

The Coliseum in Rome compares favorably to any modern stadium.  It could be flooded to re-create battles at sea, and it was the first “domed” stadium, as there were giant awnings that would be pulled out during events to shade spectators from the sun.  But there were also brutal battles between beasts and men, sometimes resulting in gory deaths.

Roman fighting techniques were superior to anything the world had ever seen, and the Romans conquered most of the known world. Yet the legions sometimes showed more loyalty to their commander than to Rome and at times fought each other.\

Ancient Rome was mesmerizing; it brought out the best, and worst in mankind.