The Getty Villa

The Getty Villa offers an incomparable setting for the study and enjoyment of the arts and cultures of ancient Greece, Rome, and Etruria. The Villa weaves together art, performances, family activities, lectures, theater, scholarship, conservation, and other activities to create an integrated educational and cultural experience for all ages, serving as a gateway to the classical past for students, scholars, specialized professionals, and general audiences.

Bordered by coastal mountains and the Pacific Ocean, the Getty Villa vividly evokes the classical world in both its landscape and architecture. Modeled after the Villa dei Papiri, a first-century Roman country house, the Villa is an airy, sunlit, environment, featuring mosaic floors and colorful trompe l’oeil walls and paintings. Its four gardens and grounds are planted with species known from the ancient Mediterranean, creating lush and fragrant places to stroll.

The Getty Villa houses the J. Paul Getty Museum’s extensive collection of Greek, Roman, and Etruscan antiquities, which comprises about 44,000 objects. More than 1,200 of them are on view in 23 galleries devoted to the permanent collection and organized by theme, including Gods and Goddesses, Monsters and Minor Deities, and Stories of the Trojan War. An additional six galleries present an annual schedule of changing exhibitions, often featuring works from other national and international institutions. The Family Forum features hands-on activities that encourage shared learning and discovery for children, while another interactive installation, the TimeScape Room, helps place the collection in an historical context.